


Tattoo Guns 'n' Roses

by Basilintime



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: F/M, M/M, Maybe a little angst, Mostly Fluff, Mutual Pining, a lot of weird euphemisms for ejaculation, alcohol mention, and the losers deserve happiness, eddie the florist, look I'm having fun, may have some sexy times if it does I'll update, richie the tattoo artist, tattoo/florist au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-21
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-02-16 12:35:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21508036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Basilintime/pseuds/Basilintime
Summary: Richie Tozier owns a tattoo shop with his two best friends in the world, Bev Marsh and Stan Uris. The three of them recently moved to a bigger, more central location and found themselves next to a florist, Eddie Kaspbrak, and Richie was pretty much instantly smitten.Will Richie continue pining for the florist next door? Will Eddie ever be convinced to let Richie give him a tattoo? Just who has Stan dated? Will the local big shot architect manage to convince Bev there's more to him than some nice buttresses?
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Bill Denbrough/Mike Hanlon/Stanley Uris, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 45
Kudos: 121





	1. There wasn't much in this heart of mine

The dulcet tones of _Guns and Roses_ were playing over the tattoo shop’s speakers as Richie spun lightly in his chair working on the sketch for his next appointment. He was purposefully situated near the front windows (to bring in customers with his charming face, of course) and if it meant that he also could catch glimpses of the florist next door, well, all the better.

“There wasn’t much in this heart of mine, but there’s a little left and babe you found it…” Richie sung along to the song quietly under his breath as he glanced up when he noted some movement outside. His spinning stopped and he leaned into the back of the chair a little further so he could see who was out on the sidewalk.

_Eddie._ _The_ florist next door. Richie smiled and waved when Eddie noticed him through the window; Eddie rolled his eyes at him but waved in return before returning to tending to the plants he kept out front of the shop. They’d been business neighbors for a while now since they’d moved their shop from where it had been situated further on the edge of town. The new space had given them more room and a more central location for drawing in customers in what was a relatively small town. Eddie hadn’t seemed thrilled to have the Lucky Lo ~~s~~ Ver’s tattoo shop open up next door to him.

“You could just go talk to him; you know? Ask him out even?”

Richie swung his chair around to look at Stan in the other station who was hunched over his most recent customer working on the finishing touches of the lizard tattoo on the guy’s shoulder. Richie thought it was some kind of gecko or something but wasn’t sure and didn’t care enough to ask. He was more focused on the look Stan gave him like he just knew what was going to come out of Richie’s mouth would be ridiculous before he’d even said it.

“I do talk to him. I’ve talked to him a lot. Several times in fact. This morning we even said hello to each other, not that it matters. Not that talking to him matters to me because he’s just our next-door business neighbor. Who wears that cute little apron and those ridiculous gloves and face mask as if he didn’t realize he’d be working with _flowers_ when he opened up a _flower shop._ ”

Richie tossed his sketchbook aside, awkwardly worked at freeing himself from the chair he’d been sitting backwards in. It took a second but once he’d managed to actually extract himself, he looked back at Stanley; found him staring at him as if he was a moron.

“You’re very convincing there, Rich.” Bev pipped up from further back in the shop where she was removing the freshly sterilized equipment from the autoclave. She leaned to look at him from around the corner, her hair up in a messy bun on the top of her head as she gave him a teasing smile. Why he had decided on the two of them as his partners when he opened the tattoo shop is beyond him at the moment.

_It’s because they’re your best friends._

“If you’ve got that sketch done, you could go grab us some lunch.” Stan changed the subject entirely as he went back to work on his client. He was a repeat customer of Stan’s, some kind of biologist who liked the almost life-like nature tattoos he specialized in.

“What am I? Your errand boy?” Richie said as he moved to the front counter to snag a bottle of water from the mini fridge. If it gave him an even better view of Eddie rearranging a few of the colorful pots of succulents he had out front, well…sue him.

“Oh, can we do cheesesteaks from that place down the street? I’ve been craving them all week.” Bev came out from the back of the shop, setting the freshly sealed packs from the autoclave in their spot.

“That sounds great, actually. I’ll take a chicken philly. Cheese fries, please.”

“And I’d love one of the Italians. No fries but I’d definitely take a coke.”

“ _No, Richie, you’re not our errand boy. You’re a respected co-owner of the shop. We value you_ ,” Richie started speaking over both of them even as he snagged his wallet off the countertop.

“Actually, get me those nacho fries. Extra jalapenos.” Bev ignored him as she started to organize her station. She had an appointment in a little over an hour.

“I’d like a diet coke as well, Richie.” Stan said in a distracted manner as Richie looked back and forth between the two of them.

“You two are assholes. Fine, I’ll go get food but only cause I’m fucking starving as well. While I’m at it, do you want anything?” Richie pointed at Stan’s client who was clearly doing his best not to shake with laughter while Stan worked on coloring in the tail section of the lizard-shaped ink.

“I mean, if you’re offering…”

“No, no I’m not actually offering. Fuck you. I’ll get you some fucking fries but that’s it.” Richie said as he flipped Bev off as she gave a laugh.

“We love you, Trashmouth.” Bev called after him as he pushed the door open.

“Talk to him. You’re going to be walking past anyway.” Richie just managed to catch Stan’s suggestion before the door closed behind him and he felt a flush in his face as he glanced nervously down the sidewalk to make sure Eddie hadn’t heard the comment.

Richie didn’t see him out front of the shop anymore and he felt a little sting of disappointment as he shoved his wallet in his pocket and started on his way. He kept his steps a bit slower than normal as he passed in front of the shop, took in the sweet honeyed scent that permeated the air. Richie craned his neck to try and see in through the front windows; tried to catch sight of Eddie as he passed.

So, maybe he had a _little_ bit of a thing.

Richie walked into something, arms moving out to try and steady himself and the person he’d almost collided with when they’d come around the corner of the shop. He had an apology already on the tip of his tongue when he looked down to find Eddie scowling at him from over the top of the dust mask. Richie blinked as he watched Eddie pull it down to reveal the rest of his face; Richie’s eyes immediately going to his lips.

“Jesus, Rich, watch were you’re going.”

“Did you want lunch?” Richie winced as the words tumbled out over Eddie’s admonishment over his inattention. Well, Richie had been attentive, he had just thought Eddie was back inside already so he hadn’t noticed him there.

“What?”

“I mean, I’m going to pick up lunch for everyone. The cheesesteak place down the street. I thought maybe you’d, uh, like something too especially since I know you can’t always get away to eat being the only one that runs your shop. Sorry, by the way, didn’t mean to run into you. Just kind of hard to see someone of your stature since you blend in so well with the succulents.”

_Jesus Christ, Richie…_

Eddie was staring at him with a familiar expression of annoyance. Richie smiled as he tried to hold in a bit of laughter at that indignation. Maybe not the best way to impress the person you sort of had a thing for but he kind of loved how cute that look was. 

“Funny, short jokes. Original content there, jack ass. Given the lame ass joke, I’d say you do owe me lunch. Give me a few moments though and I’ll come with you. I need a bit of a break and I don’t think I trust you not to trip and dump it all on the ground given recent events.” Eddie tugged his pair of garden gloves off his hands as he spoke, lightly smacked Richie on the shoulder with them as he moved to step inside the shop.

Richie stood there staring off down the street in confusion about what had just happened. He glanced back towards the tattoo shop and found Stan, Bev and their regular all staring out at him through the window. Bev gave him enthusiastic thumbs up as Stan just shook his head and went back to work. Richie could practically hear his contention.

Eddie reappeared without all his normal work gear on. When he wasn’t dressed up like he was working in a biohazardous environment, he tended towards jeans and what Richie would typically describe as ‘grandpa clothes’. They looked good on him.

“Come on, I can’t be gone for long. Let’s go.” Eddie had locked the door to the florist and moved past Richie on the sidewalk. Richie turned slowly on his heel, able to catch up to him easily with a couple of long strides before he fell in step with Eddie.

“You don’t usually close up for lunch.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t usually have the Loser next door offer to buy me lunch. Besides, it’s a bit slow today. I needed the break.” Eddie gave a shrug as he paused at a crosswalk to check for any cars that were passing by.

“Flowers got you stressed there, Eds? You don’t have a sentient plant in back asking you to feed it, do you?”

“You know I’ve told you not to call me that. And who knows? Maybe you should come in and check it out when we get back. I can’t imagine that even a carnivorous plant would want you in its mouth so you’d be safe either way.”

Richie gave a snort of amusement at the comment as they started across the street, the cheesesteak place already in view. It really wasn’t that big of a town. He saw the smile flit across Eddie’s face, the soft laugh at his own joke. He always seemed caught off guard when he said something funny.

“Well, I can’t blame it for that. I mean, eating anything that dresses this spicy would undoubtedly give you indigestion when it clearly is used to bland food.” Richie motioned to Eddie’s outfit, used it as an excuse to give him another once over because he really did look nice. The red sweater was a favorite of his, not that Richie had favorite items of Eddie’s wardrobe.

“I don’t know if spicy really describe the mess you call a wardrobe, Richie.” Eddie gave him a critical look as they reached the restaurant. Richie reached over his head before Eddie could get a hold of the door and opened it for him. They were for a moment a little too close, Eddie having to step back so the door could swing outward and they bumped into each other again. “I’m pretty sure I could have gotten the door.”

“Didn’t want you to risk your delicate disposition. You might wilt.”

“Fuck off.” Richie followed Eddie inside the place and they were immediately greeted with the scent of greasy delicious food. Richie felt his stomach give a grumble as it seemed to suddenly realize just how hungry he really was. The woman behind the counter gave them both a half-hearted smile as they approached.

“Hey, hi, how’s your day been?” Richie beamed at her, flipped that switch inside himself that said to be a people pleaser. Her smile turned a little more genuine as he actually waited for a response rather than barreling right into ordering.

“Oh, not great but I think it’s getting better. What can I get you?”

“Well, I’ve got a bit of a list. First, I need one of your chicken philly’s…” Richie listed off Stan and Bev’s orders first, adding in the fries for Stan’s client before picking out something for himself as well. When he was finally done, he gave Eddie an expectant look. “And, whatever my friend here would like.”

“Oh, uh, how about a veggie delight and a diet coke?” Eddie said as he frowned softly at the menu as if he hadn’t really thought the food aspect of this through. “I, uh, have a coupon too, I think…” Richie watched him with amusement as Eddie dug his wallet out to shift through a few receipts before presenting a ‘free sandwich’ coupon.

“Hey now, I’m supposed to be buying for you and you go and pull out a coupon? Hell no, add some cheese fries to his too. He’s due for another growth spurt here soon and could use the extra nutrition.”

“Oh, fuck you.” Eddie said with a huff. Richie gave their cashier another wide smile and a wink as she laughed and added on the last thing of fries. Eddie didn’t exactly protest but Richie figured if he didn’t want to eat them it would just be a bit more food for him.

“Alright, that will be 27. 50.” Richie handed his card over to pay and she doled out the cups for their fountain drinks to them. He handed Eddie his with a smirk and watched him storm off to the drink fountain after snatching it from him. “You’re one of the guys who run that tattoo shop down the street, aren’t you? Lucky Lovers?”

“I sure am. You thinking about getting some work done?” Richie watched Eddie as he waited for his card and receipt back. He had taken a napkin from the holder and appeared to be wiping down the spout before finally pushing the button to fill his drink.

“I might be. I was kind of thinking of getting a little something…maybe on my chest?” Richie blinked and looked back as the cashier handed his card to him. He gave a nervous little laugh as he shoved his things back into his wallet before picking up the last of the cups so he could get everyone else’s drink. “Maybe even get something pierced?”

“Ah, you’d have to, uh, talk with Bev at the shop for that one. Can we, um, have a drink carrier?” Richie fumbled a little but still tried to smile. Tried not to act too adverse to the idea. He sometimes managed to forget that the default assumption was typically straight, which in this town was sometimes a blessing, but never the less managed to throw him off when it dawned on him someone was taking ‘friendly’ to mean more than it was intended to be.

The cashier gave him a small frown, almost boarding on a pout, as she reached under the counter and handed over the drink carrier to him. Richie smiled again, said thank you and immediately bee-lined to join Eddie at the soda fountain.

Eddie had managed to navigate getting his soda poured and was pressing a lid down on his cup when Richie stepped up besides him. He let the drink carrier drop on the counter before shoving one of the cups under the ice dispenser.

“You get a date out of that?” Eddie glanced over his shoulder towards the cash register before giving Richie a look that he couldn’t quite read. It bordered somewhere between curious and maybe a little disappointed.

“What? Oh, uh…no, not my type. Probably too good for me anyway.” Richie gave a nervous little laugh as he shook his head.

“Well, that’s a given. Can’t imagine it takes much to be too good for you, Tozier.” Eddie took a sip of his soda with a wide-eyed look full of sass. Richie flipped him off with a tense smile which was quickly followed by a curse as he failed to stop the soda fountain before it started overflowing the cup. He let go of the button and tried to lift the cup off the ledge without spilling it all over the place.

“Shit.” He cursed out loud this time as he tried to put the cup down on the counter. Eddie was suddenly shoving napkins into his hands to try and dry the soda off of them before taking more to sop up the mess he’d just made.

“You sure she’s not your type, dude, given she just made you jizzpop all over the counter?”

Richie snorted with laughter, almost spilled the soda all over again as he gave Eddie an incredulous look. He saw a bit of a blush come into Eds cheeks though he was clearly trying to suppress his own laughter.

“What the fuck did you just say?” Richie fought to get the words out between his laughter as he shook some of the soda from his hand at Eddie. Eds gave a bark of complaint as he tried to dodge the flecks of spilled coke, shoving more napkins at him in retaliation before trying to carefully dab the whole two specks off his sweater.

“Don’t feel too bad, Rich, I’m sure it happens to the best of us.” Eddie patted him on the shoulder in a consolatory manner before stepping around him before he got a chance to respond to that one.

“You’re the one that made me jizzpop, you idiot.” Richie muttered it quietly under his voice as he finished cleaning up the last of the soda and tossed the soaking wet napkins away. He pushed a lid down on the first cup before filling the others more carefully as Eddie lingered near the counter for their food to be brought out.

Heteronormativity was a bitch. Sure, maybe it made it easier to let people think he was straight during most interactions but _Eddie_ wasn’t supposed to assume he was straight.

Richie sighed as he got the drinks lined into the carrier and lifted it to go join Eddie at the counter just as their food was brought out in two larger bags. The cashier gave him another smile though a small frown formed on her face as he took one of the bags of food and Eddie took the other.

“Did you have an issue with the drink fountain?” She asked while looking at what seemed to be directly his crotch.

“Don’t worry about that; he just got a little over excited,” Eddie fired it off sounding almost defensive rather than the teasing tone he’d had with Richie at the drink fountain. Richie looked down at himself and realized he had soda all over his pants. He cursed again knowing that wasn’t going to dry before they got back to the shop which meant he wasn’t going to hear the end of this for a while.

The cashier gave them both a bit of a strange look as Eddie turned and started towards the door. Richie gave her another tight smile before following after him, cradling the drink tray carefully in his hands while keeping a grip on the food bag. Richie eyed the napkin dispenser near the door as Eddie got it open and at least had the decency to wait and hold it open for him.

“Hey, could you grab me some extra napkins?”

“Nope.”

Richie walked into the shop after saying an awkward goodbye to Eddie at the door of the flower shop. He could feel that nervous embarrassment in his chest that he hated. He’d not exactly been smooth though. Stan and Bev both looked up at him, the two of them leaned back in their chairs and the only ones apparently still left for the moment.

“What the hell happened to your pants?” Stan gave him a frown as he looked him over and Richie sighed as he walked over to the counter.

“Jizzpop,” Richie said as he set the bags of food down with dramatic flair. He was a little more careful with setting down the drink tray, not wanting to end up with another mess on his hands, and started doling out the food as Stan and Bev both gave each other a quick look.

“Do I even want to ask what ‘jizzpop’ is?” Bev asked as she stood and came over to help him. Stan joined them as well, the three of them crowding around the counter as they sorted out who’s was whose.

“Yeah, Rich, I said ask him on a date, not ‘let him jizzpop all over you’. Especially when you’re grabbing everyone’s lunch.” Stan gave him a look that was just full of judgement as he took the now empty bag and balled it up to toss into the trash. The words were there, built up in his chest and wanting to spill out. He’d been lucky they hadn’t when he was still walking back with Eddie. He was, well…honestly, Eddie had handled it well but Richie still felt like he’d made a fool of himself.

“Eddie isn’t the one that jizzpopped on me,” he said pointedly as he grabbed the extra box of fries he’d bought for Stan’s client. “Where’s your guy? I’ve got his fucking fries.”

Stan looked confused for a moment as Richie shook the box at him and then a bit of realization crossed his face. Richie realized that Stan’s client must have left, meaning they were now extra fries for whoever could claim them, at the same time that Stan reached to snag the box from him. Richie pulled it up high, tried to keep it out of Stan’s reach though that was easier said than done given the fact he was just about the same height as him.

“You actually bought him fries, Rich? We sort of figured you were joking. Stan finished up and the guy headed out.” Bev gave a soft laugh as she lifted up the box with Richie’s burger in it to keep it from getting knocked to the floor in their struggle.

“Well then, I guess these cheesy fries are mine. After all, I deserve them for the emotional distress I had to go through to get them.” Richie had to put his free hand on Stan’s shoulder, pushing him back lightly as he almost managed to get the box from him.

“Emotional distress? What exactly happened while you two were off on your lunch date?” Bev said with a laugh. She reached over the counter and stole the box right out of his hands with ease. She gave them both a look that said there would be no arguing as she popped the lid open and plucked up one of the fries and bit into it with relish.

“I made a fool of myself.” Richie huffed as he pulled a stool over to sit down while he ate. Stan flopped down in one beside him, neither of them willing to try and snag the fries back from Bev now that she’d claimed them. Richie kept his eyes on the counter to avoid the looks of concern he knew likely passed between them.

“And that’s new how?” Bev gave him a grin as she broke the silence gently and Richie raised a single-finger salute in her direction as he got started on his own food. He glanced back a little self-consciously in the direction of the window but Eddie was obviously inside. Enjoying his food and thinking Richie had made a mess of himself over the cashier.

“And how exactly did that lead to you having…’jizzpop’ on your pants?” Stan glanced down at the still damp spot on his pants.

“Please, Stanley, stop saying ‘jizzpop’. It’s inappropriate.” Richie said with a groan as he stabbed a fry into his mouth. The sweet taste of cheese, potato and grease flooded his mouth and part of him felt a little less ridiculous. Just a little. Cause if Eddie could unironically use a term like ‘jizzpop’ then he had no real room to judge.

“Every other word out of your mouth has been ‘jizzpop’ since you came in here.”

“Yeah, but me saying it is normal. I’m a grown human being; hearing you say it is just weird though. Unsettling.” Richie gave an exaggerated shiver as if deeply disturbed as Bev gave a soft laugh.

“We’re the same fucking age, Richie.”

Richie decided to ignore that protest as he tried once more to dab at the soda on his pants. It was better than it had been but it was definitely taking its sweet time drying out. He probably had a spare pair in the back somewhere. It wasn’t exactly the first time he’d spilled something on his clothes while at work.

“Well, basically Eddie thinks I’m straight. So, I’m confirmed no chance with him which is the emotional distress part. Second, I managed to make a complete mess by getting distracted by him being a sasshole while I was trying to fill up the cups at the drink fountain. That’s the jizzpop part of it. His word, not mine. He was giving me shit for ‘blowing my load’ at the thought of the cashier who apparently was flirting with me despite the fact that I said she wasn’t my type. By the way, Bev, you may be getting a call from her. She said she was wanting a chest piece and I pointed her in your direction but…that may have just been…”

“Flirting?” Bev batted her eyes at him jokingly.

“Yeah, ‘flirting’.” Richie made air quotes as he said it.

“Huh…guess jizzpop makes sense in that context as a euphemism for ejaculation…” Richie heard Stan say it almost thoughtfully and narrowed his eyes at him as he swallowed roughly. Stan had the bland look of a man who wasn’t intentionally making a point of saying as many uncomfortable words as possible.

“Stanley Uris, what have I said about using the adult words? I don’t want to hear that type of language come out of your sweet baby face pretty much ever.” Richie tossed a fry at him this time and Stan gave an indignant roll of his eyes as he tried to knock it away.

“Ejaculation is a perfectly appropriate medical term, Richie. Would it make you feel better if I said ‘cum’? Or how about…what was it you used to say in college…’clown pie’? Or maybe ‘flying salty demons’?” Stan gave him that looked that definitely meant that Richie had brought this on himself. Richie didn’t know _how_ cause he was totally _innocent_ and hadn’t provoked Stan at all but apparently, he deserved to hear this deluge from his best friend’s mouth.

“Jesus, where did you learn such foul language cause I know it wasn’t me. Bev? Did you teach him this?”

“God, no. Okay, I’m going to have to put my foot down. I’m trying to eat and if I hear one more idiotic term for the fact that Richie creamed his jeans, I’m going to lose my appetite.”

“Hey now…” Richie complained as Stan busted out laughing at his indignant response. This time he took aim at Bev as he unwrapped half his straw and then blew the other half in her direction. It managed to smack against her shoulder before fluttering down to the counter top.

“Seriously though, Rich…just cause he mistakenly might think you’re straight, doesn’t mean you don’t still have a chance with him.” Stan had let the laughter die down before he spoke up, voice a bit quieter than before. “I still think you should ask him on that date.”

“I don’t know…maybe.” Richie gave a noncommittal shrug but gave Stan a small smile of appreciation for the encouragement. It was something he hadn’t always had a lot of in his life but Stan and Bev both had always been his constant source of support in simply being himself. Sure, they were both assholes sometimes but they were _his_ assholes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie ends up feeling like he's living in a bad Groundhogs day remake as he both manages to make a mess of himself in front of Eddie once again while also getting an invite for another chance to grab lunch with him. Now, if only his wardrobe could manage not to embarrass him. 
> 
> Meanwhile, Bev's favorite customer comes into the shop for a new tattoo.

Richie felt it was a blessing that the shop opened later in the morning. They could have opened earlier, at times they did if there was an appointment for a tattoo that was going to take most of the day, but the three of them had all agreed that they would routinely start around ten in the morning. This meant that each morning when he finally found his way to the tattoo shop with coffee in hand around ten-thirty, Eddie had already been open for several hours and typically was at the part of his day where he was tending to the plants out front. 

Richie glanced up as he walked down the sidewalk now on his way in and spotted him. Apron, gloves but no face mask today; at least not at that moment. Richie took a sip of his coffee, slowing his step a little as he watched Eddie prune off a few leaves that apparently had disappointed him at some point over the course of the night. He had noticed that Eds talked to the plants a few times; it was always quiet but he spoke words of encouragement to them as if they weren’t just collections of photosynthesizing chlorophyll. 

God, he was fucking cute.

“Morning Spaghetti-head. How’s the petal children doing?” He finally picked up his pace again to avoid being caught watching him. Took an unnecessarily long sip of his coffee to hide any sort of blush that may have risen to his cheeks and managed to steam up his glasses as well. 

“Morning Pain-in-my-ass. The plants are doing just fine.” Eddie quipped back at him without even turning to look at him. Richie had to pretend to choke on his coffee to hide the fact that his head definitely went to a place where he could be a specific type of pain in the ass to Eddie. Less of a pain, more of a-

Richie tripped on an elevated corner of sidewalk that he failed to see with his glasses steamed up from his drink. He managed to catch himself before he fell forward entirely but he spilled coffee on his shirt with a loud curse. Eddie finally turned to look at him and Richie heard his snort of amusement and lifted a single finger in his direction while trying to figure out just what to do about this specific catastrophe. 

“Do you ever make it through a single day without making a complete fucking mess?” 

“I blame you for this.” Richie sighed in frustration as he moved to set his coffee cup down on one of the stands besides a potted plant. Twice. In two day. He’d somehow managed to spill his drinks on himself twice in two days and both times it had been because of Eddie. 

“Me? You should pay better attention to where you’re going, dumbass. That part of the sidewalk has been like that for months now.” Eddie sounded affronted as he watched him, his focus finally on Richie when Richie would have preferred it not be. Not when he’d just made an idiot of himself  _ again _ and possibly ruined one of his favorite shirts. “Honestly, its an improvement.” 

“Ex-fucking-cuse me?” Richie looked up as Eddie gave him a smirk. 

“Your shirt. It’s terrible. The coffee is an improvement.” Eddie pulled his garden gloves off and crossed his arms as he looked at him. 

“My shirt is a fucking work of art. In fact, your mom loved the tiny pineapples on it when it was on her floor last night.” Richie huffed as he worked on unbuttoning the shirt, pulling it off so that his undershirt was all that remained. It was wet and coffee stained too, because of course it was, but it was a little better off. Eddie’s silence stretched out between them in response and Richie frowned as he looked up at him while wadding his shirt up in his hands. 

Eddie was staring at him, smile deflated as he seemed a bit zoned out of it. Richie wondered if he had said something wrong. 

“Earth to Eddie.” 

“What?” Eddie blinked and seemed to realize he was staring as he turned to set his gloves done next to one of the display bouquets. “My mom’s dead asshole.” 

“What?” 

“What?” They stared at each other for a few moments before what Eddie had just said really sunk in and Richie felt his face grow hot with embarrassment and slight mortification this time. 

“Shit, dude, really? I’m sorry, it was just supposed to be a joke. I’m, uh…I’m sorry for your loss?” Richie bumbled the words out as Eddie gave a shake of his head and turned away. He glanced back at him for a moment but Richie could tell he’d apparently stepped in it. 

“No, she was, uh…anyway, I didn’t realize you had so much work done yourself.” Eddie grabbed his gloves, seemed to flounder a bit himself as he looked everywhere but at Richie even as he motioned towards Richie’s tattoos that ran down his arms. There were a few he’d done himself just to prove that he could but the others were a combination of work. Most came from Bev and Stan from over their years working together; a few were from some different artists’ whose work he admired. 

“Oh, yeah…honestly, most of me is covered with ink.” Richie spoke absently as he recollected his coffee. His only real hope now was an elegant exit, if at all possible, which didn’t show much promise given his exit was literally just to walk a few more feet to the shop’s door. “Right, so, I’m gonna go. Gotta get to work. Sorry about the…your mom thing.” 

Eddie waved him off as Richie shifted to move towards the safety of the tattoo shop, made a point of avoiding the raised portion of the sidewalk. 

“Hey, um…” Richie paused as he reached the door and heard Eddie call after him. He leaned back to see Eddie peek out from behind one of the plant displays. “I figure since you got lunch yesterday that I can grab it today? Let me know what you want a little later? I mean, you three.”

“Uh, yeah…” Richie winced a little, felt like he was sounding a bit like a broken record as he fumbled for the door handle for a second. “Like, you don’t have to do that but I’m also not gonna say no to food so…if you want. I’ll ask the other two.” 

“Okay, sounds good. Just come over when you’re ready to go grab something.” 

“Yeah, okay. Um, sorry…about the whole. I’ll see you later.” Richie found the door handle and pulled it open as if it were a lifeline and he stepped inside hastily as Eddie gave him a wave. He stood there for a few moments, back against the door as he was greeted by the silence inside. Richie said a small prayer of thanks that Stan and Bev apparently weren’t in the front of the shop yet. They’d be in the back making sure everything was set up for the day. 

The sound of the door opening did summon them though, Stan appearing as Richie stood there with an expectant look that turned into a frown of disapproval as he saw it was just him. 

“Should we start being concerned about this new trend, Tozier?” Stan gave him a look and Richie realized he was still standing there half soaked with coffee in his undershirt and probably looking a complete mess. He also realized he was in sight of the windows and that Eddie likely could  _ also _ still see him. He pushed away from the door, heading towards the back to side step around Stan to almost run into Bev instead. 

“I tripped and spilled my coffee. Do I still have that extra shirt back here?” 

“You keep an extra shirt in the office?” Bev gave him an amused once over as he stepped into the small office marked ‘manager’ despite the fact that there wasn’t a single manager of the place. He pulled open their filing cabinet, searching to see if he could find his bounty. 

“I mean, not on purpose. I left it here after that ‘Cover up your Valentine’ thing we ran.” Richie opened a few more of the drawers, feeling a little desperate until he spotted the shirt crinkled in the back of the bottom drawer in a ball. He also remembered distinctly why he had changed and left it here after that day but he didn’t exactly have a whole lot of options right then. 

“You’re not serious, are you?” Stan stared at him as Richie shook the shirt out and cringed. He didn’t remember where he’d found it, a thrift shop or something like that, and it had made him laugh at the time. It had been funny ‘ha-ha’ on that day when he had worn it while covering up the tattoos of jilted lovers. Right then on a random Tuesday in the middle of July it maybe made a little less sense. 

“Please tell me you’re serious,” Bev said with a snort as she looked at the bright pink shirt with candy hearts on the front of it that had such charming phrases as “Eat Ass”, “Suck a Dick” and “Sell Drugs” across them. 

“It’s either this or shirtless.” Richie tossed the shirt onto the desk so he could pull off his undershirt. He gave them both an expectant look as he stood there cold and shirtless for a few seconds as if they had a choice. He wasn’t going to wander around with his shirt off all day. The last thing he needed was to turn customers off. 

“I mean…you are a walking advertisement for the shop with your tats,” Bev said thoughtfully. 

“I really love the thought of him wearing that shirt though. Kind of hard to mistake him as someone not into dick if he’s parading around in that all day.” Stan shrugged with a smirk on his face and Bev gave him a light smack on the arm.

“This wasn’t supposed to be a difficult choice, asshole. I’m going to wear the fucking shirt cause like hell I’m going to wander around blinding everyone all day.” 

Richie snatched the shirt back up and fought his way into it with a huff. He pulled it one straight, tried to ignore the amused expressions on the other two’s faces. He looked down at himself and thought it wasn’t so terrible. Except…

“Shit.” 

“What?” Bev’s smile faltered a bit as if she wasn’t certain if there was an actual serious problem or not. Richie looked up at them both and eyed Stan for a moment. 

“Change me shirts.” 

“What? No!” Stan said, stepping back to put distance between them both. 

“Bev…” 

“Hell no. You were all gung-ho on wearing that shirt, what’s changed?” Bev laughed at the suggestion. He knew she wouldn’t do it and he looked back at Stan pleadingly. 

“Eddie offered to buy us lunch since I technically covered him yesterday. I’m supposed to go to the flower shop when we’re ready to eat. I can’t go wearing this fucking shirt. Stan, come on, be a friend. Just switch shirts with me. You like dick too!” 

Richie watched as a smile spread across Stan’s lips, more of a smirk really, an evil one at that. Stan reached out to pat him on the cheek as he just shook his head before turning around to walk away from the office. 

“Stan, I hate you.” 

“Lunch, two days in a row and you wearing that shirt. This will be good for you, Richie. It really will be,” Stan called back at him from somewhere near the front of the shop. Richie squeezed his eyes shut tight in frustration as he worked on accepting his fate. Eddie was going to hate this shirt. Richie hated this shirt. Well, okay, Richie thought the shirt was hilarious but that was when he’d worn it secure in the knowledge that the hot florist next door wasn’t going to see him in the shirt. Not clearly enough to read it. There was a reason he had changed before he left that day. 

“You knew he wasn’t going to change shirts with you.” Bev leaned against the door, giving him another once over as Richie looked down at the shirt as if it was going to magically change for him. 

“You wouldn’t…by any chance…?” 

Bev burst out in laughter and turned to follow after Stan which left Richie standing in the office on his own. He sighed as he smoothed his hands over the shirt, wondered if he could get out of lunch with Eddie without it seeming like he was making excuses. He really wanted to have another chance to go grab lunch with Eddie. 

He’d have to suck it up then. Richie wasn’t usually one to mind making a fool of himself in front of people, hell, he did that on purpose half the time when he decided to throw his hat in the ring at random open mic nights at comedy clubs. He just had already  _ made _ a fool of himself that morning as it was with the ‘your mom’ comment and he had an overwhelming suspicion that Eddie wasn’t going to find his shirt all that amusing either. 

Richie squared his shoulders, decided that if he was going to wear it then he may as well own the shit out of it, and he followed Bev and Stan out to the front of the shop where they were getting their stations set up. It was the middle of the week but all three of them had appointments coming up that they’d need to be ready for. 

He took a second to glance out the front window before moving to get his area set as well. There was an older couple outside the flower shop looking at some of the example bouquets in the flower shop window but Eddie was no longer out front tending to the plants. Richie gave a soft sigh, self-consciously smoothed a hand over the shirt once more and got to work. 

*

Richie was in the middle of putting butterfly on a twenty-something college girl when the door chimed. He knew who it was immediately by both the time of day, the fact that they were expecting Bev’s next appointment and by the way that the girl’s eyes left him to look in mild awe at their new addition. 

Oh, and the way Bev greeted their visitor. 

“Ben!” 

“Hey Bev.” Ben’s slight drawl came up sounding fond and entirely more intimate than he likely realized. Richie paused for a moment on the butterfly, leaned back in his chair to find Stan doing the same so they could catch a good look at Ben standing at the counter. Bev was giving him a flirty sort of smile, chin in her hand as they talked quietly for a moment. 

“He looks good.” Richie mouthed the words to Stan who gave a short roll of his eyes. 

“He always does.” Stan mouthed back at him before disappearing back behind the half wall to his space to continue his work. Richie glanced towards the counter once more, eyes landing on Ben’s back and he gave Bev an eyebrow waggle before sitting up once more. 

Bev and Ben had a thing for each other. It wasn’t a new thing, not exactly, Ben had clearly started crushing first when he came in for his first tattoo a few years ago. The guy had been somewhat of a legend in town for a while, the big wig architect who flew his own plane to his projects and disappeared for months at a time. Derry was the sort of place where someone like that stood out enough to be talked about but Ben was sweet enough that he was generally liked despite the show of apparent money. 

Bev had started crushing by the time Ben came for his third tattoo. They had been sitting, talking quiet and low as Bev worked on the new geometric design on Ben’s shoulder when he had something that had made her laugh. And not Bev’s polite laugh but something that had made her snort with amusement. It had been all over for the two of them from then on but they seemed to be the only two who didn’t realize that just yet. 

“Is that that Hanscom guy?” His client, Sheri, leaned in close to him to whisper it loudly and Richie gave her a soft look of pity. 

“It is but I’ve got to say he’s already taken.” She gave a huff of disappointment as she settled back in the chair and he got to work again. He heard Bev take Ben back to her area to get working, their talk low and intimate and peppered with laughter. 

The butterfly didn’t take him long, it was a common enough design, one that Sheri had picked out herself. He was running her card as she leaned against the counter admiring her first tattoo, taking a quick selfie making kissy faces at her phone though he didn’t miss the way she kept trying to crane her neck to get a look over the half wall that divided out Bev’s space. Richie couldn’t blame her, Ben was getting a chest piece done and was currently sitting there shirtless as Bev leaned in close. 

“Here ya good, mon cheri. Remember, no soaking that puppy for up to four weeks.” Richie handed the receipt to her, pulled her attention away from the distraction so she could sign it for him. 

“It’s a butterfly...not a puppy.” She frowned at him, laughed like he was stupid and signed the receipt before snagging her card back away from him. “Thaaanks. I’ll be sure to tell my friends about you.” 

“Yeah, thanks.” Richie said as he picked up the receipt and saw that she’d left no tip. He pursed his lips for a second before pushing the receipt into its slot in the drawer and closing it. He stepped around the counter once more, moving to stand where he could see into both Stan and Bev’s areas. Stan was clearly about to finish up as well while Bev had just gotten started on Ben new work of art. 

“That’s a, uh…nice shirt, Richie.” Ben gave him an amused look as he turned his head just enough to look at him. 

“Sounds like a fun time, huh?” Richie said mainly to see him blush. Somehow the guy walked around looking like that while maintaining an innocent air about him. “Say, you’re not using your shirt. Mind if I borrow it?” 

“What?” 

“Say NO!” Stan shouted it across the walk, talking louder than most people thought he was capable of and Richie flipped him off without looking back. 

“Let me borrow your shirt. For just a bit, I’ll give it back. Promise.” Richie gave him a grin as Ben looked between him and Bev for a moment with confusion. Bev, for her part, was shaking her head at him. 

“Bad look to show up to a lunch date wearing another man’s shirt, Rich.” Bev said in a chastising tone, reaching to snag Ben’s discarded shirt from where it was sitting for the sole purpose of keeping it away from him. Richie sighed, emphasized the lovely bird he’d been directing at Stan in her direction this time. 

“Yeah, showing up in an “Eat Ass” shirt if so much better. Come on. I’ll be back before your tattoo is done.” 

“So you admit it’s a date?” Stan spoke up from behind him again, his customer giving a low snicker as Richie closed his eyes in exasperation with them both. 

“It’s not a date.” 

“If it helps, the shirt actually looks good on you, Rich.” Ben gave him a smile that was entirely too sweet as he served up the compliment. Richie felt the blush rise up in his cheeks as he laughed and shook his head. He saw Ben’s sweet smile turn a little bit mischievous which let him know he knew exactly what he was doing. 

“Okay, against my better judgement I’m going to go grab you people food once again. Have fun with your shirtless boyfriend, Bev.” He felt a small sense of accomplishment when he saw her cheeks go a bit pink; tried to think of something to say to get Stan back as well but came up short. “Stan...fuck you.” 

“Fuck you too, Rich.” Stan said it back affectionately as Richie turned, headed towards the door while trying to shake off the last of his nerves. 

Richie took a deep breath as he paused outside the door for just a moment before turning to step towards the flower shop. He pulled the door open decidedly, scanned around the place for a second to try and get the lay of the land. He hadn’t actually been inside before and it was a lot more open than he had assumed. There were coolers full of flowers along the walls and a few different racks with more bouquets that could be bought as is along with some empty pots and garden equipment beyond what more florists would have. 

It took him a second to spot Eddie, back behind the counter working on a bouquet with his entire get up in place. God, he was fucking cute. 

“Hey, Lollipop Guild, you ready to go grab some lunch?” Richie did his best not to regret immediately starting in on the jokes as he saw Eddie stop and look up at him; eyes narrowed over the face mask with apparent annoyance. Richie saw Eddie look him over, eyes landing on the shirt for a few moments as he frowned while reading what was written in the candy hearts. He couldn’t read his expression behind that dust mask, had no idea what sort of thoughts crossed Eddie’s face as he turned to pick up the vase he’d been working with and carried to carefully to one of the fridges. 

Richie stood there feeling more and more awkward as Eddie continued not to actually say anything to him as he worked on taking off the garden gloves, the apron and the dust mask. Eddie carefully folded them all into a neat pile on the counter before leaning and snagging his keys off the register and finally stepped around the counter top to walk towards him. Richie saw his eyes flicker down to the shirt a second time and felt his defenses go up, guarding himself for finding out that Eddie wasn’t as nice of a guy as he seemed. 

“Just when I didn’t think your fashion sense could get any worse, you bring the ‘Eat Ass’ shirt back. I have to be seen in public with you, you know that, right?” Eddie gave him a sarcastic looking smile, tapped at Richie’s chest as if emphasizing the point. 

“Wait, back?” Richie frowned a little, gently swatted Eddie’s hand away. 

“Yeah, you wore that shit on Valentine’s day. I remember cause you kept telling your customers if I was running a ‘Two Ex Special’ if they had to cover up more than one name. How are so many people stupid enough to keep tattooing names on themselves?” Eddie gave him a frown as he stared at the shirt, seemed to be debating if he really wanted to be seen in public with him while wearing it. 

“I didn’t think you had even seen me that day. You were so fucking over run with people getting last minute flowers so they could actually get laid that night. And, hey, to be fair there was only one guy...no, wait, two guys that actually needed to get two names covered up. Anyone else was lying to you.” 

Eddie managed to pull his eyes away from Richie’s shirt long enough to give him a deadpan stare before he side stepped around him to head towards the front of the shop. 

“Come on, if we’re going to grab food we should go. I got a few big orders I’ve got to get done and, clearly, you need to get back to your side hustle as Willy Wonka’s side hoe.” There was a weird relief as they fell back into the banter and Richie turned to give an offended gasp as he gladly trailed after Eddie. 

“I’ll have you know I’m his full-time hoe, thank you very much. His cinnamon stick is all mine.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe someday Richie won't manage to spill his drink all over himself in front of Eddie. 
> 
> As always, thank you for reading and comments are forever appreciated.


	3. I've got the Midas Touch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie and Richie go on yet another lunch non-date together. Richie notices a shift in the apparently comfort level between them with the additions of several casual moments of touch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from "Midas Touch" by Midnight Star.

They had agreed to walk down to the little dollar scoop place to grab food. He knew well enough what Stan and Bev would want from there and, well honestly, it would take a little bit more time. He’d have a little bit more time with Eddie. 

“This place isn’t going to give me fucking food poisoning, is it?” 

Okay, so, Eddie had less agreed and more cautiously chosen not to dismiss the suggestion entirely. He’d apparently not tried the food at the local One Scoop One Dollar joint that literally had no other name aside from the abbreviated ‘dollar scoop’ that most people called it. This was a travesty that Richie aimed to correct immediately as it had some of the best food in town. Including, the best little donuts he’d ever tasted that were so coated in cinnamon and sugar that it may as well have been nothing but. 

“Jesus, no, loosen up. It’s good, I promise. I’m pretty sure I used to live off this shit when we first got the shop going. It’s good, I promise.” 

Eddie gave him a look as if he didn’t really believe this as they sidestepped around a gaggle of kids that were running down the sidewalk. Richie caught the eye of a Karen who was trailing behind them who had definitely taken the time to read his shirt and was scowling at him now in a disapproving manner. Richie gave her a wide smile, cursed Stan and Bev once more in the back of his head as he hunched his shoulders a little like that was going to help keep everyone and their mother from seeing the words emblazoned on his shirt. 

At least Eddie didn’t seem to mind that much. In fact, Eddie had already given some scathing looks in return to a few of the Chads and Karens they’d passed who clearly didn’t approve. It gave some small part of him joy to feel like his terrible clothing choices were being defended by him. Almost as much as the silent realization that they were going to get food together for a second day in a row. And the fact that Eddie hadn’t completely blown him off after the disastrous ‘your (dead) mom’ joke thing that morning. 

“If this makes me sick, I’m holding you accountable.” 

Eddie gave him a pointed look and Richie noticed his eyes glanced down at the shirt once more. So, maybe the defensiveness was less for Richie’s behalf and for his own. Still though…

“I promise you if this place makes you sick, I will take good care of your flowers until you’ve returned to health. I will warn you though that I have a notorious black thumb and you may come back to everything being dead.” Richie shifted, turned so he was walking backwards so he could face Eddie. 

“I’m pretty certain you’re the last person I’d want taking care of anything for me, Richie. I’ve seen the way you handle carrying cups; I’d end up with every vase and planter in the place shattered. Will you pay attention to where you’re going?” Eddie reached out to him, tugged him to the side with a surprising amount of strength that caught Richie off guard. 

“Pay attention, asshole!” The guy on the bike yelled it back over his shoulder as he passed, narrowly missing both of them as Eddie flipped him off. 

“Bikes aren’t supposed to on the sidewalk, jackass! Learn some common fucking sense!” 

Eddie shouted it right back at the guy seemingly without a care that it drew more attention to them. Richie would have normally laughed at that except currently he was too busy trying to restart his brain from the fact that Eddie had manhandled him. Still had a hand on his hip where he’d taken hold to pull him out of the way of the bike rider. 

God, it was too easy to get under Richie’s skin. 

Correction, he was finding it was too easy for _Eddie_ to get under his skin. 

“Hey, you alright, Rich?” Eddie pulled away and Richie was pretty certain his soul went right along with him. Still, he managed to shake himself out of his stupor to give him a smile he knew was more than just a little goofy. 

“Well, I gotta say, I’m a bit shaken up. It’s not every day I’m pulled from in front of a moving vehicle by an angry chihuahua. I’m pretty sure I’ll manage to walk it off though.” Richie went immediately for the joke because it was easier than thinking his thoughts might actually slip through. He patted Eddie’s cheek, laughed some more when he batted his hand away indignantly, and died a little inside. Richie didn’t get it; he didn’t get what made him such a fucking mess in front of Eddie at every opportunity. 

“Fuck you, you sasquatch. Maybe walk the right way and I wouldn’t have to pull you out of the way of disaster.” 

Eddie gave him a little shove with his shoulder, not rough or mean, but joking as he nudged him to turn around and start walking again. Richie felt a little rush of relief go through him as he sidestepped just enough to put some distance between them; enough that their arms wouldn’t brush against each other as they walked. 

They started down the sidewalk again, momentarily lapsing into silence as Richie tried to think of something to talk about. His mind kept circling back to the moment Eddie had just pulled him in close like it had been nothing. How clearly strong he was which shouldn’t have been a surprise really. Richie had seen him haul around some impressively sized planters before when he changed out displays in the shop. It made Richie think about Eddie pulling him around for entirely different sorts of reasons. 

“So, how many tattoos do you actually have?” 

“Hm? Oh, honestly? I lost count a while ago. Quite a few though.” Richie glanced down at himself, got a fresh reminder that he was wearing the brightest shirt on the planet to ever exclaim “eat ass”, and glanced at Eddie. 

Eddie was looking at one of the tattoos along the inside of Richie’s wrist, a geometric set of dice that Bev had done for him ranging from a D4 up to a D20. On either side of it, centered along the line, were two arcade tokens done in a similar style. One had a stylized Pacman on it with the word _Arcade_ above it while the other showed the flip side of the coin that stated _No Cash Value._

Richie lifted his wrist, turned it so that Eddie could see the design better and Eddie ran a couple of fingertips down along the string of dice. Richie was going to short circuit if Eddie kept finding little ways to touch him. He felt a bit of disappointment when Eddie let his hand fall away rather as they had to part around a guy who’d stopped to talk on his cell phone in the middle of the sidewalk. 

“You looking to get your first tattoo, Eds?” 

Richie gave a soft laugh, teased him in order to try and distract himself from that slightly electric feel left behind where Eddie’s fingertips had been. They could see the china buffet now, almost had reached it which meant they were technically almost halfway through this non-date lunch date. On the way back they’d both be carrying food which meant that the chances of more feather-light innocent touches would be null. 

“My first tattoo? No.” Eddie made a slight face like he thought Richie was being funny. “I wouldn’t know what to get at the moment even if I was thinking about it. Just curious. I knew you had the sleeves but I guess I hadn’t thought about the rest. Are they all nerd shit?”

“No, they’re not all _nerd shit_.” 

Richie flipped Eddie off playfully at the comment and was rewarded with a small smirk of amusement. They reached the front of the buffet and Eddie pulled the door open for him, held it like a proper gentleman even as Richie continued to give him the bird as he stepped inside. 

Once he was inside, ahead of Eddie for a few seconds, he took a deep breath and allowed himself to feel ridiculous. He hadn’t been this head over heels for someone in a long time. Maybe ever. He didn’t even know what it was about Eddie, well, there were a lot of things about Eddie that he could list if he wanted to. 

Richie found himself turning on that people pleasure smile as they approached the counter, the server giving a half-hearted smile in return. He drummed lightly on the counter as he stepped up, Eddie coming to stand beside him. Four bowls of rice, noodles, beef and chicken and an assortment of wantons later they were set with food for everyone and Richie found himself dragging his feet a bit when it came to choosing a drink. 

“You about ready to go?” Eddie had been getting the last bag of food, the handles looped over his arm, as he approached to give Richie and the tray full of drinks a skeptical look. Richie realized he couldn’t exactly delay any longer and settled on the coke; filled up with a little bit of ice first. 

“Yep, we should be good to go, Eduardo.” 

“Maybe I should carry that? You don’t exactly have the best track record.” Eddie raised a brow at him, nodded at the drink tray as Richie got the lid on his cup and stabbed a straw through it to take a quick sip before he stuck it in the last open spot on the tray. 

“What? You don’t trust me with these, Eds? Why ever would you think I couldn’t handle carrying this entire tray of very spillable drinks?” Richie gave a grin as he picked up the tray, jokingly acted like he almost fumbled with it and then almost did fumble with it before he managed to set it back down. 

He was a goddamn fucking mess. 

“No, no I don’t. Take the damn bag of food. That should be easy enough for you to handle.” Eddie gave him a frown as he shoved the two bags of food in his direction. Richie chuckled as he grabbed them, held them so Eddie could pick up the tray easily before they started towards the door. 

Richie held the door open this time as he made sure both bags were looped over his arm securely. He wondered if Eddie would come into the shop to eat with them or if that would keep his shop closed up for too long. Wondered if he asked how Eddie would respond. 

“You know, I owe you now, right? This is hardly an equivalent exchange, you buying lunch for all of us when I got you a drink yesterday.” Richie fell in step with Eddie who scowled at a woman who wasn’t paying attention and almost bumped into him. The sidewalks had the midday tourist crowd which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn’t actually that crowded. It was a chaotic enough group though to require some caution. 

“I’d say one of the other two owe me. You already bought everything yesterday.” Eddie shook his head in response as they walked side by side. Richie felt a small bit of disappointment in the fact that it seemed like a dismissal. There was nothing to dismiss but that didn’t keep that small knife from twisting in his gut. 

“Well, I’ll make sure to let Stan know he’s on base next.” Richie made sure he kept his voice light, kept that disappointment out of his tone because he knew it was unfair to Eddie. He didn’t really expect anything to come of this after all but it had been nice to pretend for a second. 

Eddie gave a soft laugh and that silence returned between them for a few minutes. Once they got past some of the main shops the crowd on the sidewalk opened up but they still walked close together. Richie waited, tried to find some way to circle back because there had been something that Eddie had said earlier that had him a bit curious. He eyed his soda in Eddie’s hands as they walked, felt a desire for a sip but to try and remove it from the tray felt too risky given his recent track record.

“So, you really don’t have a single idea for what you’d get if you actually got some tattoo work done?” Richie leaned over closer to Eddie on an impulse; snagged the straw sticking out from the top of his drink to take a sip without _really_ thinking about it until Eddie was scolded him for it. 

“I swear, if you make me spill soda all over myself.” 

Eddie stopped where he stood and Richie dragged himself to a stop too. Continued to drink from the straw while looking up at Eddie expectantly for an answer. His glasses had slipped down enough that he was looking at Eddie from over the tops of the frames which meant that he couldn’t see the look Eddie was leveling at him just then. He was sure it was a scowl though. A frown of absolute disapproval. 

Richie sipped for a little bit longer before he stood up with a dramatic ‘ah’ of refreshment. He shoved his glasses back into place and found that frown that he was expecting. It was a little softer than he’d assumed, a little less disapproving and a little more...something that Richie couldn’t peg down. He was fairly positive he’d just made a fool of himself; made Eddie uncomfortable because he was being a pest just to get a sip of his drink. 

“Are you good?” Eddie asked with a frustrated tone as he glanced away from Richie at something over his shoulder. 

“Yeah, sorry, just needed a drink.” Richie looked over his shoulder to try and see what had caught Eddie’s attention. Didn’t find anything that seemed particularly interesting back there. When he turned back around, he realized that Eddie had side-stepped and was walking again without a word. 

_Well, shit…_

He hadn’t really thought about how it might have come off. It had been an impulse cause he’d wanted a drink but this wasn’t Stan or Bev that he was walking with. Despite the butterfly, he felt comfortable around Eddie and for a moment forgot that maybe just swooping in for a drink wasn’t the best idea. He hurried, took a few long strides to catch up with Eddie as they reached the street corner right as the walk sign turned for them to cross. 

“It’d be something floral.” Eddie spoke up as they reached the other side. Their shops were just a short distance further down the sidewalk by now and Richie was fairly positive he’d killed any sort of cordial mood that might have existed all cause he’d wanted a drink of his soda. 

“What would be floral?” He frowned as he asked, the two of them slowing their pace as they reached the front of the tattoo shop. 

“If I wanted to get a tattoo. I think I’d do something floral.” Eddie said as he gave a shrug. Richie smiled a little; of course Eddie would want a flower as his first tattoo. It made sense and Richie could almost picture it, a burst of water-colored petals on his shoulder. Maybe stretching up along the back of his neck a little. 

“Is this your way of asking if i’ll do the work for you?” Richie said jokingly, not sure how much good will Eddie had left to spare for him for the day.

“I’ll think about it.” 

“Wait, really?” Richie narrowed his eyes at Eddie as he tried to figure out if he was shitting him or not. He hadn’t actually expected any sort of positive response, Eddie didn’t really seem the tattoos type though he had seemed interested in Richie’s.

“Yeah. Not a promise or anything but I’ll think it over.” Eddie said, seemed a little less certain now as he continued to stand by the door. “Are you going to open the door or not?” 

“Oh, yeah…” Richie jumped forward and grabbed the door to the shop so he could pull it open. Eddie stepped inside as Richie’s brain went into overdrive; already was working on planning out what tattoo would look best on Eddie. Maybe a watercolor design with the floral theme, shoulder either a bit extending onto the neck. 

Eddie would be shirtless. Shirtless Eddie sitting in his chair just like shirtless Ben who was still sitting in Bev’s chair at the moment. Richie clocked the fact that Eddie paused when he noticed him, not for long but for a few seconds, which probably meant that he recognized him. Granted, everyone in town knew who Ben was. Perfect, hot, built Ben with the fancy job and who was so damn sweet you couldn’t actually be irritated by him. 

“We’ve returned with food and Eddie has promised to let me give him his first tattoo!” Richie exclaimed it as he set the bags of food onto the counter next to where Eddie slid the drink tray.

“Really?” Stan questioned as he stood up from his station, a frown of disbelief on his face as he gave Eddie a questioning look. 

“I didn’t promise, asshole, I specifically didn’t promise. I said I’d _think_ about letting you give me a tattoo.” Eddie rolled his eyes, reached in front of Richie to grab his food. It forced them into a close space again, Eddie leaning against his side as Richie stood feeling a small part of him short circuit. There had been a lot more casual touch than he could have expected or prepared for today. “Are you going to let me get my food?” 

“Yeah, yeah. Jesus, are you fucking hangry or something?” Richie was able to think again as he stepped aside so Eddie could find his box of food from in among the rest of them. Richie figured he’d grab it and go; take the food back with him to his shop next door and leave him to deal with the jeering that he was due from Stan and Bev. Instead, Eddie moved to pull up one of the two stools they kept behind the counter and sat down with the clear intent to eat there. 

“This is alright, yeah? I see you guys eat here all the time but I don’t want to violate your health codes or some shit like that?” Eddie set a hand on top of his box, seemed to purposefully ignore Richie as he asked the question to the other two. 

Richie tried to discreetly flip Ben off when he saw the amused look he was giving him. Guy wouldn’t even change shirts with him; he wasn’t going to let him gloat now.

“That’s fine. As long as you’re not in any of the areas. The front counter we count as a ‘clean zone’,” Bev said with a slightly distracted tone of voice as she focused on the line she was needling into place. She’d pulled her hair back at some point, messy bun on top of her head as she practically had to straddle Ben’s lap to get the right angle. Still, she shot Eddie a grin when she pulled away to draw up more ink into the needle. 

Stan came and stole the stool next to Eddie before Richie could sit down and gave him a look of purely false innocence as he did. Richie sighed as he leaned against the counter as dug out his own food. He watched Eddie curiously for a few moments; watched how he carefully got himself set up with his food and utensils before he finally started to eat. 

“So, this _first_ tattoo? What are you thinking of getting? Maybe Richie isn’t the best choice as an artist.” Stan spoke as he gave Richie a teasing look for a moment. 

There was honest curiosity in his tone as he gave Eddie a small frown though. Eddie paused to give him a look that Richie wasn’t really certain how to interpret. It almost seemed like there was some sort of secret between them; that sense that Stan knew something that Richie didn’t about this conversation. Had Eddie already talked with Stan about getting a tattoo before? Had he expressed interest in getting work done by Stan? The thought, honestly, disappointed him even though it shouldn’t have. Stan would do an amazing fuck job. 

“I’ve thought about getting something floral but I’ve not decided for sure yet. I’m going to need to be convinced that getting a tattoo at a shop literally named ‘Losers’ is worth it.” 

“Lovers.” Ben spoke up from his chair as if correcting Eddie saying the name of the shop wrong. Technically they were both right. It was about the frame of mind and, well, Ben clearly had love on his mind as he watched Bev’s expression closely as she worked. Eddie, meanwhile, had never once seemed to consider that the shop name really was supposed to be Lucky Lovers instead of Lucky Losers. 

“Whichever, point is, I’m going to be picky which means there’s no promise.” Eddie said with a glare in Ben’s direction. 

This was sounding more and more like a no to Richie and he felt himself get disappointed in knowing that Eddie seemed not to trust that he’d do a good job. Granted, the first tattoo was always the more nerve wracking since you didn’t know what to expect. 

“Well, I’ll give you my expert opinion that Richie would do a great job on a floral tattoo; couldn’t pick someone better for it.” 

Stan smiled softly, his tone honest and genuine as he gave Eddie a light nudge. Richie knew this was high praise from Stan who trusted very few people to ink him. He’d taken a few years before he even let Richie do work on him because he was a bit particular on how things should look. 

Richie felt a small swell of pride with the reminder, glanced at Eddie as he shrugged and gave a soft nod of his head in agreement. Their eyes met for a moment and there was an unexpectedly soft look in Eddie’s face that made a blush creep up into Richie’s cheeks. He knew it didn’t mean much of anything but he’d tattoo Eddie for free for life if it potentially meant more of those sort of looks. 

Shit, he was really in way too deep with this. 

“I’ll take the recommendation into consideration. For now, I’m fucking starving and I’m probably going to be stuck at work late as it is.” Eddie turned, dropped his eyes away from Richie’s as he twisted some of the lo mein noodles up onto the plastic fork. Richie popped the lid open on his own food, content with the distraction before he lost control and started running his mouth. Thing was, he could already picture how the tattoo could work. 

Definitely one of the shoulders, leaves maybe spread up along his neck a little way. He’d sketch it that afternoon after his late appointment. After they’d close up for the night, he’d take the time to sketch something that he felt would work perfectly for Eddie. Maybe see if he could sneak a look at some of the flowers in his shop for inspiration. Wondered if Eddie had favorite flowers or not and, if so, how they’d look in a design that swirled up with water colors behind it along his arms. Even if Eddie didn’t decide to get the tattoo, he might appreciate the work Richie could put into the sketch. 

“How late you thinking you’re going to be here?” Bev asked from her chair as she sat back, looked at her work with careful scrutiny for any details she may have missed. A smile crept onto her face when she met Ben’s eyes for a moment and Richie could have almost been sick from how sugary sweet they were. The two of them needed to hook up already. 

“Not sure. We’re getting close to graduation so I’ve gotten an influx of orders for the next few weekends.” Eddie gave a shrug as he picked at his food for a few moments. “Nothing I can’t handle but I wish some of these fucking people would take the time to figure out what sort of fucking bouquet they’re expecting before they call. I’ve spent half my time trying to describe what a fucking carnation is and that, yes, if you want a fucking five-flower large bouquet in a vase it’s going to cost more than five fucking bucks.” 

“Tell us how you really feel, Eds,” Richie said with an amused laugh. Eddie rolled his eyes and stabbed at his noodles once. In the background, Bev was going over the care instructions with Ben for his tattoo despite the fact that he clearly didn’t need them anymore.

“You’re the florist next door, right? Sounds like you could use a bit of help. I’ve got some time to kill and I’m sure Bev will vouch for me.” Ben spoke up as he finally worked on pulling his shirt back on. Richie caught Eddie eyeing him in those moments before Mr. Abs-of-Fab had gotten covered up. Felt a small twist of jealousy even though he knew well enough that this was just Ben being Ben. 

The guy was a fucking boy scout. 

“I appreciate the offer…” Eddie trailed off a little as if he was debating on whether to accept the offer of help or not. “I should be good though. Once it’s to the point of working on the actual bouquets it’s better that I’m the one who puts them together.” 

“Alright, offer stands though if you change your mind. Bevvie can always get a hold of me.” Ben got up, long legs and muscles and Richie hated him for just a moment there when Eddie clearly looked him over. It wasn’t an indication of anything aside from the fact that Ben could make pretty much anyone with eyes and a general attraction to a kind soul swoon. 

“Yeah, thanks.” Eddie sounded a little less awed this time as he gave a soft scoff as if it was a ridiculous idea and that he’d thought so the entire time and not just in those last few seconds. 

Bev hip checked Richie lightly as she stepped up to the counter to snag the tablet they used to take credit card payments. She rung Ben up as the rest of them sat there eating and pretending not to be checking out his ass until he finally left with a last goodbye.

“By the way, Stan, Eddie wants you to know you’re on the spot for next lunch. We’ve officially paid each other back which means you two are the ones who owe us.” Richie cleared his throat as he spoke up, glanced at Bev as she leaned against his side affectionately as she finally popped open her own box of food to eat. 

“Oh, I get to go on the patented Eddie Lunch Date next?” Stan said sarcastically and Richie almost choked on a bit of orange chicken. Eddie, for his part, didn’t seem to take this the way Richie knew Stan intended it to be taken. 

“Yeah, maybe you’ll be less of a mess in comparison to Richie.” Eddie’s eyes dropped to that hot pink shirt once more and Richie forced himself not to duck down to where it wouldn’t be visible. “Maybe if he focused more on the eating ass and sucking dick part and less time on the drugs he wouldn’t be a walking, talking spill risk all the time.” 

“For your information, I only _sell_ the drugs. I don’t partake. Hardly a factor. Maybe if I hadn’t had to watch to make sure I didn’t take out the resident leprechaun, I wouldn’t be having problems.” Richie pointed at Eddie over Bev and Stan’s laughter. Didn’t realize until much later that there might be a different meaning intended to him ‘taking Eddie out’.

Whichever way Eddie had taken it, he simply flipped Richie off with a laugh that eased some of that tension in Richie’s chest. The four of them ate together, talk straying towards business and the upcoming events in town until Eddie finally announced he really needed to get back to work and left around the same time some more clients showed up to the shop. Richie gave him a wave through the shop windows as he went before doing his best to focus on the rest of the day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I'm just having fun with this thing so expect a lot of hijinks in this fic as it goes on. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and comments are always immensely appreciated <3


	4. Somewhere Inside My Own Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie has a day off and finds himself slipping into indecision and feelings of inadequacy. He gets out only to have the day continue to tank lower as he's reminded of his time at the local comedy club. He also overhears something at the shop that makes him wonder how much of a chance he actually has with Eddie.

It was Richie’s day off which meant he was caught somewhere between the desire to sit at home and do nothing but stew in that slowly creeping sense of inadequacy that tried to settle over him more often that he’d like to admit or actually going out in an attempt to enjoy himself for the day. He would already need to be out of the house towards the end of the day as it was. He was supposed to meet up with Stan and Bev at the shop around closing time so the three of them could go out for trivia. They’d be meeting up with Bill, Stan and Richie’s friend from when they were kids, and Mike, Bill’s ‘business’ partner. 

The fact that it would be Stan, Bill and Mike all together meant it was going to be a sap fest too. Richie would have declined except, well, it was actually kind of nice seeing Stan happy with those two. Plus, he couldn’t leave Bev alone to be surrounded by all their lovey dovey bullshit on her own. So, in about six hours he’d need to be presentable enough to go sit in a bar and yell some trivia with people. 

Six hours to do nothing or to do a lot of things. Richie was struck with that inevitable terrible plague of indecision as he laid in bed staring up at his ceiling. This was why he didn’t really like taking days off from work. The inability to actually land on something to do despite the fact that he could think of a lot of things he could do. The lack of stimulation caused him to slip into some of those darker spaces that liked to lurk in the back of his mind. 

He’d been meaning to go shop to get a few new pairs of jeans for a while now. He’d also thought of just going into his ‘office’ to work on some new portfolio pieces for the shop. There were the plethora of video games he’d been meaning to play. Movies to watch. He could just get out and go for a walk down by the beach. The tourists would be out in full force but he was close enough he could walk and not deal with the nightmare that would be parking. And yes, Richie also knew he could use some extra sleep cause he was perpetually tired except for when he wasn’t. 

Richie sighed as he ran his hands through his hair before he forced himself to sit up. He needed to do something or he’d, for sure, be in a shit mood when it came time to go to trivia. Getting up and doing something would at least give him the chance of feeling more energized. Even if it was something he did at home. He needed to do something cause he could lie there all day if he let himself. 

He reached over blindly to the bedside table to try and find his glasses. It took a bit of searching to figure out where he’d tossed them the night before but once he did, he shoved them in place on his face. The room was suddenly in focus around him and Richie dragged himself out of the bed. If he couldn’t figure out just what he wanted to actually do besides sit around thinking about all the things he could go do then he’d get ready at least. 

He went through his morning routine like he was going to work. Shower; get distracted checking notifications on his phone as he stood in the bathroom naked and still damp. Get dressed; be distracted by a text only to realize it was a weather update instead. Open the fridge to find food and then immediately close it again because nothing sounded good; only to reopen it when his stomach gave a complaint. Richie stared at the food that was in the fridge, leftovers that he probably should get rid of but hadn’t taken the time for and a few odds and ends. 

“Fuck it.” He shut the door again and went to grab his wallet. He’d go out to eat and then decide what he wanted to do with the rest of his day. He knew well enough that if he left himself fall into that slump of apathy for even a second that he’d end up sliding deeper into a funk.

Richie barreled himself out of his townhouse, stopped only to make sure he’d remembered to lock the door, and headed out. He stifled a yawn as he started down the sidewalk after a momentary debate on whether he should take his motorcycle into town and take advantage of parking at the shop or just walk like he normally did. The place was hardly big enough to justify owning a car but his bike had been a nice way to head out when he got the urge. At that moment, a walk sounded better though. 

He pulled out his phone and sent Stan and Bev a quick text asking if they wanted him to bring anything by from the cafe he was heading towards. 

Richie somewhat regretted that addition the second he’d sent the message. It was good, because it made the choice set in stone for him now that the other two knew what he was planning on doing, but that also made him feel anxious about all the _other things_ he could have decided to do instead. Stan called these times his ‘deer in the headlights’ moments; times where Richie froze up simply because his brain was intent on racing through all those possibilities like a car careening through a forest with no breaks. 

But he could do the beach. It had been a while since he’d gone and though he hadn’t exactly dressed with the intent of getting wet; he’d make due. Richie sidestepped a family that was coming down the sidewalk before he pulled the door to the local cafe open. It was one of those small local places that the tourists tended to skip over when they came to town. That wasn’t to say it couldn’t get busy when the time of date was right. Richie found that he’d fortunately missed whatever the morning rush had been though as he got a quick wave from Ray behind the counter. 

“Hey Ray; I’ll take the three regulars and then a black coffee with some cream and sugar on the side.” Richie told himself it was common courtesy to get Eddie something too and not that he wanted the excuse to interact with him. 

“I’ll get them all started, Richie.” Ray rang him up and moved to step behind the espresso machine to get it working on steaming some milk. “Hey, have you thought of dropping by open mic night again sometime and the club? Everyone loved you last time.” 

“Please, I’m lucky they didn’t all manage to find a bunch of rotten tomatoes somewhere to start throwing at me. Apparently, gay sarcastic loser doesn’t go over well with the straighties.” Richie winced a little as he made the joke. He’d been a favorite at the small comedy club for a long time until he’d suddenly stopped ragging on his make-believe ‘girlfriends’ and started cracking jokes about being best friends with the only other queer people in town. 

“Ah, that was just Bowers and his asshole friends. I’m pretty sure that lot got banned a few weeks ago, at least for a while. Everyone else thought you were great. What was that one; something like, it’s hard being the only single gay guy in town. The only way you’re going to get head is to remove a rib and your insurance repeatedly told you that isn’t covered since it’d be considered an ‘elective surgery’?” 

“Ah, yeah, it was something like that. I’ve still not convinced them to remove that rib, ya know?” Richie joked back because he knew Ray meant well; he’d been the one to invite Richie to the comedy club in the first place. Richie had hoped it’d be a nice change of pace; he loved making people laugh so why not get up in front of a crowd and throw out a few jokes at his own expense. He could tell pretty quickly that a good portion didn’t enjoy his jokes since they didn’t fall in line with the other ‘man, my girlfriend has my balls in a vice’ sort of humor the others had had. 

“Oh man, yeah, that one had me cracking up. You know, it’s totally something I can relate to even as a straight guy, ya know. Like, come on, who in this town’s gonna want a piece of Ray?” 

“No one, Ray. The answer is no one. Now, please stop terrorizing my least favorite customer and get back to work.” Ray flushed as he was interrupted by the cafe owner who stepped out of the back. Richie grinned even more as Audra lifted an eyebrow at him. 

“Tozier.” 

“Phillips. You score that date with the sweet girl next door archetype yet? The one that grows her own strawberries?” Richie leaned against the counter a little more at ease as Audra rolled her eyes. The small quirk of her smile told him what he needed to know though; the hint of a light behind her eyes. Audra had been crushing on Patty Blum basically from the second she’d seen her. Richie had caught her making eyes at her one day when he’d stopped in for coffee and had offered to hook them up. Patty was Stan’s ex, after all. 

“Not yet but we’ve been talking. I think I’ve just about managed to get my foot in the door.” Audra leaned against the counter to give him a coy smile. “Who’s the fourth coffee for?” 

“Who says it’s for anyone? Maybe I just want to double down on my caffeine today.” Richie felt a little nervous twinge at the knowing look on Audra’s face. 

“He likes coconut creamer instead of the regular. Would you like me to use that?” Audra batted her eyelashes at him for a moment as Richie felt a little heat come to his cheeks. 

“Sure, I’ll give coconut creamer a shot. Since the extra coffee is for me.” Audra’s serious expression finally broke as a little excited smile came to her face. It wasn’t surprising that she’d figure out that he was getting coffee for Eddie. The two of them had either come in her for lunch or passed by the shop a few times now. 

“Rich, you should watch how much caffeine you’re taking in. I know it seems a bit counter intuitive given I work in a coffee shop but that stuff can be terrible for you if you drink too much.” Ray spoke up as he worked on one of the lattes, the sound of the steam wand almost covering up his words. Audra gave him a pitying look from behind his back and Richie had to purse his lips from laughing. 

“I appreciate the warning, Ray, I’ll keep that in mind in case my heart feels like it’s going to explode later.” Richie gave him a smile as Ray stared at him for a few beats before giving an uncertain chuckle as if he wasn’t sure if he’d actually been joking or not. He set the first drink into the drink carrier on the counter for him and Richie eyed it for a moment in hopes it was his. 

Instead, he saw Stan’s name scrawled on the cup which meant it was his ‘Blackberry Crumble’ latte which was a coffee sin in Richie’s mind. He made a face at the cup before looking back at Audra who was pouring the plain coffee from the carafe. Richie made a show of reaching over the counter to snag one of the honey sticks that were stashed back there. Audra watched him the entire time with a raised eyebrow though made no move to stop him as he snagged a single stick and casually popped the end of it into his mouth. He bit carefully on the end to pop it open and sucked some of the honey from it. It tasted faintly of raspberry

“How’s the shop been doing? You still going to be in business for my appointment on Saturday?” Audra finished mixing Eddie’s coffee and placed it in the tray; Ray followed it quickly with another one of the lattes. This time he saw Bev’s name scrawled on the side and he was starting to think Ray was purposefully trying to withhold that sweet nectar of life. 

“Well, you know, as long as the most talented artist there doesn’t have a caffeine overdose before then we should still be going strong.” 

“Oof, you’ll have to tell Bev to take care of herself so you don’t lose the only talent in that place,” Audra gave an exaggerated wince that immediately turned into a grin. She dug around behind the counter for a moment before handing him a few more of the honey sticks. “Take an extra few to go.” 

“I thought I was your least favorite customer yet, here you are, letting me taste even more of your honey for free.” Richie took the sticks with a faux look of awe and he cradled them to his chest like they were cherished. 

“You are my least favorite customer, especially now that you’ve said that entire sentence. I’m bribing you to get you to leave.” Audra gave him a flat look for a moment as Ray tucked the last drink onto the tray. Richie set the honey sticks in between the cups on the tray so he could carry them all easier. He tucked an extra ten into the tip jar for them before he scooped the tray up. “I’ll see you Friday. I’ve got the sketch all ready to go and we can make any changes we need to that morning before we get started. We’re gonna tat up that ass!” 

Richie used his back to push the door open since his hands were full, waggled his eyebrows at Audra as he went and she smiled and shook her head. Ray had a frown on his face and Richie saw him lean to ask Audra something quietly that earned him an exasperated expression from her as he stepped out onto the sidewalk once more. 

*

Richie had taken extra care not to spill anything on his way down the sidewalk as his mind dwelled on Ray’s suggestion. He had enjoyed being on stage; if Bowers and his group were banned then he might actually be able to get through a set without the endless heckling. It wasn’t that he expected anything to come of it but the truth was he needed something new to focus his mind on during his hours off. He frequently just buried himself into his work but that’s how he ended up the way he was. No ability to focus on anything but that impending sense of being a failure. 

As he passed the front of Eddie’s shop, he glanced towards the door to see if he could see him inside. The place looked empty but he knew he must have been there somewhere. There was an arrangement sitting on his work table that was clearly only halfway done. He continued past for now, stepped up and used his hip to push the door to the tattoo shop open since his hands were full. Bev and Stan were also nowhere to be seen but he could hear their voices in the back near the office. 

“You know Richie’s going to give you shit as soon as he finds out?” Bev’s voice carried out to him as he crept down the hall with the intent on scaring the two of them for not paying attention. He stopped with the question though, frowned as he listened despite knowing he probably shouldn’t be trying to listen in to their conversation. 

“Trust me, I know. I won’t hear the end of it but it’s not my place to get involved and tell him. It’s going to be up Eddie to do that.” Richie heard Stan’s sigh as he responded, the thunk of the copier as it kicked on. They must have been making new agreements for customers to sign before getting work done. 

Richie glanced down at the carrying tray as he took a few steps back and tried to process what he’d just heard. Backed clear up to the front door again so it wasn’t obvious he’d been listening. Why would he have been upset about something to do with Stan and Eddie? Unless the thing that was being kept secret was that Stan and Eddie had had a thing. Maybe a fling by the sounds of it. 

It would make sense. Stan was ridiculously fucking hot which was something Richie could say objectively as his best friend. He couldn’t remember if he’d been settled into his current relationship yet or if it had still been a bit of an open thing back when they first moved into the location. And, of course Eddie would have wanted a piece of Stan’s pie if it’s been available. 

And, well, anyone with eyes could see why Stan would have enjoyed a bit of fun with Eddie. 

Richie closed his eyes for a moment, tried to keep the assumptions and self pity to a minimum. Neither Stan nor Eddie deserved him acting like an asshole about the whole thing. Even if it had happened just yesterday, he had no business dictating what those two might have or might not have done. But if Stan was Eddie’s type that meant there was little hope in Richie’s mind. He knew he wasn’t exactly a catch; there’d been more than a few partners in the past that had been more than willing to remind him of that. 

Richie scrunched up his face for a moment and gave his head a shake in an attempt to stop the numerous scenarios running through his head. He took a deep breath like his therapist always told him to when he felt like his mind was racing with assumptions and self-deprecating thoughts. 

He managed not to startle when he heard the soft knock on the side window but he felt that sinking feeling in his gut when he saw Eddie looking in at him with a soft frown like he thought he was crazy. Richie smiled, immediately flipped that switch to the carefree position, and held the tray up as he mouthed the word ‘coffee’ to Eddie. 

He kicked his foot back gently to hit the door just hard enough to make it sound like it had just closed behind him before calling out to Stan and Bev in the back. He could tell that Eddie was still watching him as he moved to set the coffee down on the front counter as he heard the other two start out from the office. He glanced back one more time to watch as Eddie slipped his apron off to hang carefully on the side of a shelf unit. He still had that frown on his face, a look that Richie knew was a bit of concern and he really hoped he didn’t say anything. To help prevent that, Richie decided to start a conversation before he could get inside. 

“What do you guys think about me going back to the Tossed Tomatoes?” Richie spoke up as Bev and Stan appeared from the back of the store. He wasn’t certain if it was just his perception or not but he felt like they both looked a bit guilty. 

“Why the hell would you go back there? That place was awful. I’m pretty sure you came close to getting your ass kicked just by existing there.” Stan gave him a shake of his head as he moved to pick up his monstrosity that he called coffee. 

“Yeah, that whole night was terrible, Richie. Everyone in that place was just laughing at you.” Bev shifted to sit on the stool next to him; gave him a little nudge when Eddie walked in but Richie purposefully didn’t look towards him. The last thing he really needed was Eddie remarking about how he’d looked like someone had died when he’d seen him through the window. 

“Well, I didn’t think it was that terrible but thanks for saying my set was a complete disaster. Good to know you two don’t think I’m funny.” Richie pouted a little; tried to keep that switch flipped to fun Trashmouth Tozier rather than letting his hurt pride and romantic uncertainty get the best of him. 

“It wasn’t that you weren’t funny, Rich-”

“Well, that’s debatable,” Stan chimed in; interrupted Bev who rolled her eyes in amusement before continuing with what she’d been saying. 

“You were great, hunny, honestly you were. But that crowd wasn’t the right fit; especially with Bowers and his moron friends being there. They were laughing with him but at you. Not to mention the whole ordeal of us trying to sneak you out the back because they loitered near the front waiting. Why are you thinking of going back?” Bev placed a hand on his arm and Richie had to hold in a heavy sigh. A twinge of anxiety as he continued to avoid Eddie’s face. 

“Where the hell is this?” Eddie spoke up; sounded defensive in a way Richie hadn’t really heard from him before. He glanced at him for the first time since he’d come in; found Eddie’s stupid doe eyes looking back at him with what probably was pity but Richie liked to think it was something a little kinder than that. 

“It’s nothing. I get the hint; I won’t go back.” Richie tried to brush it aside and immediately could feel Stan’s eyes boring into him. He took a long drink from his coffee, ignored that it was a bit too hot still, just so that he didn’t have to meet his eyes. Any of their eyes. 

“It’s that comedy place down off Pasco. Richie did a stand-up set there a few months back but the place is full of assholes. You’ve not mentioned that place in months. What’s the interest now, Richie?” 

Stan had picked up on the fact that he was upset. Richie knew it from that slight shift of tone in his voice and the sudden focus on him. That hadn’t been the plan. Granted, he hadn’t expected them to tell him he just sucked. Well, okay, he _had_ expected that but he hadn’t thought they’d be concerned about him actually doing it. 

“Ray had just mentioned it when I was grabbing the coffee and said that Bowers and his group have been banned from there recently. Apparently, he thinks everyone else really loved my stuff but that’s not true from what I’m getting from you assholes.” 

Richie took a sip of his coffee and accidentally caught Eddie’s eyes. He was looking at him like he was trying to decipher just what was going on and Richie almost could have believed he was capable of it with those stupid fucking puppy dog eyes he definitely didn’t think about a little too often. He looked away from Eddie only to find Stan and Bev both giving him quizzical looks as well. Richie knew he was busted; knew that his jester hat had fallen askew in front of the two people who knew the best when he wasn’t entirely okay. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll just stick to torturing my clients with my bad comedy. I mean, they can’t do much unless they want to bail with half-finished ink. It’s really the perfect trick. Reel them in with my meager artistic ability and then hit them over the head with the good stuff. Anyway, my plan was to head to the beach since it's my day off and you bitches are stuck here. So, you’re welcome for the coffee. I’ll see you all later.” 

Richie drummed for a moment on the countertop before he picked up his coffee cup and started towards the door. He wasn’t going to stick around any long because he knew that Stan would weasel it out of him. Not even just the stuff about the comedy stuff, not even just the stuff about Eddie, but Stan would cut through to every feeling of inadequacy if Richie gave him the chance. It was hard to keep that shit from Stan; they’d known each other for so long and he knew how Richie could fall into a low spot. He also always knew just the right thing to say and though that should cheer Richie up he didn’t want to hear it just then. 

“Don’t forget about tonight, Tozier.” Bev called it after him as he hip-checked the door to get it open. When he looked back to answer her, he found all three of them staring at him with similar expressions. It was like being in a horror movie but the horror was concern. He grinned at them; knew it probably came off like a cringe but, well, that was just him. 

“I won’t, Ringwald. Gotta show these meager brains off somehow.” Richie gave them all a wave as he back stepped out onto the sidewalk. Didn’t give them a chance to say anything else though he saw them wave goodbye before he turned and started down the sidewalk towards the beach access. 

*

Richie had walked a little way down the beach until he found a spot that was relatively free of people before sitting down in the sand near the water. He felt his phone buzz a few times; knew without looking that it’d be Stan or Bev asking what was up with him. Richie laid back, didn’t care about the inevitable sand jacket he’d end up with or the fact that the tide was definitely coming in and he’d likely end up half in the water in no time. 

Stan and Eddie had had...something. Perhaps still had something? He didn’t think Stan would have encouraged him if that was the case. Stan wasn’t a complete dick like Richie was. 

His comedy apparently wasn’t funny either. He was laughed at; not with. A clown on display who’s only funny when he’s not trying. A real Mr. Cellophane. 

He knew that wasn’t what they’d been trying to say. Tossed Tomatoes was, objectively, a terrible place filled with ‘the straights’ who only found jokes about how miserable being in love made them. Still, it had been kind of nice having Ray suggest otherwise for a bit. 

His pseudo-’coming out’ was both the worst and best thing he’d apparently had done in his life. It wasn’t like he’d come out and made a formal announcement to the entire town about it but the stand-up routine had basically told people all they needed to know. Sure, wearing shirts that said things like ‘Eat Ass’ and ‘Such Dick’ probably was a good indication too. But, still, he knew it wasn’t like the entire town knew. 

It had felt like it that night though. And it felt like it now. 

His feet were just starting to get wet from waves managing to lap up over his shoes when he heard the footsteps approach in the sand. Richie kept his eyes closed as the person sat down next to him. He knew it would be Stan cause Stan always found him. 

“So, want to tell me what’s going on? Is it just a bad day or did something happen?” 

Richie finally cracked an eye open to look up at him. Stan was staring out at the waves with a mild look of distaste on his face as he dusted sand off his jeans. Yeah, he could understand well enough why Eddie would have been interested in him. Just like he understood Bev’s interest in Ben and vice versa. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be working? I’m going to report this to your boss. It’s very unprofessional for you to be wandering around at the beach instead of waiting for your next customer.” Richie pointed up at him in an accusatory manner and Stan raised an eyebrow at him with an unamused expression on his face. 

“I literally am the boss, dumbass.” 

“Then consider yourself reported, young man.” 

“Richie.” Stan’s tone was serious and Richie sighed as he looked up at the sky. 

“Just a bad day. Got nothing to do and the old brain started picking itself apart first thing this morning. I’ve been grasping at straws ever since and, though I’ve been told I have extremely good gripping strength, I don’t seem to be catching much.” 

Stan rolled his eyes at the crack about handjobs, that small smirk of amusement coming to his lips before he shifted to lie down next to Richie despite it just making his clothes even more coated in sand. Richie sighed, pressed his glasses up into his hair as he pressed the backs of his hands against his eyes as he closed them again. Shut out even that red glow of the sun through his eyelids as he tried to find the energy to laugh. 

“We meant it when we said you were good, Rich, with your stand up set. Bev and I just don’t want to see you go back there and get the same shitty treatment again. I know Ray probably means well but he’s oblivious if he doesn’t realize that crowd was a bag of dicks. Not to mention, the way Bowers acted after that. We’re just worried.” 

Richie felt something brush his temple and peeked out enough to find Stan had shifted close, the sides of their heads touching slightly so they could talk quietly and still be heard over the waves. Richie rested an arm over his eyes this time, nestled his face in the crook of his elbow so that his other hand was free to find Stan’s so their fingers could link together. 

“Is there something else? Eddie said you looked upset when he first saw you come into the shop.” 

“No, that was it.” Richie felt that twinge in his chest at the mention. He didn’t want to admit to Stan that he was being a dumbass and feeling sorry for himself. Especially since the reason for that was because Stan _might_ have hooked up with Eddie at some point. There was a stretch of silence between them and Richie peeked out at Stan once more. He was close enough that Richie could tell he was looking right back despite how blurry the world was without his glasses. 

“You’re still the funniest idiot I know.” 

“Aw, that’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me, Stannie. You going to take me out to dinner next?” Richie batted his eyes at Stan, tried to get purchase on his glasses to put them back in place only to knock them off the top of his head and into the sand. Stan came through for him, like he always did, and got them picked up and dusted off before handing them back. 

“Speaking of dinner, I was going to let it be a surprise but Eddie’s going to be coming to trivia with us tonight. Apparently, he’s a friend of Mike’s and he had invited him to try and get him out a bit more. So, enjoy letting the ocean slowly devour you like the moron you are but I’d advise not showing up looking like a piece of seaweed tonight.” Stan shifted to sit up; Richie made a face when he leaned over to press a kiss against his forehead and showered him with sand in the process. 

“I’ll come in full ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ mode.” Richie joked as he carefully shoved Stan away so his shirt would stop dumping sand on top of him. They paused for a moment as a couple of beachcombers happened past them; Stan gave him a genial look but they still hurried along as if they could tell he was impatient. 

“I’m sure Eddie will find the scent of fish shit water very attractive then. You sure there’s nothing else?” Stan spoke only once they were relatively on their own once more. Richie watched him for a moment as he tried to debate asking. He could feel the words on the tip of his tongue and it was taking actual effort to keep them from spilling out. 

_Did you and Eddie date? Am I stepping over some awkward line with this and you’re just not saying anything about it cause you’re Stan “The Saintly” Man?_

“You think he’ll want to come home with me? Suck on my fish stick?” 

“Well, it’s good to know you’re feeling better. Now, fuck off. Enjoy your day at the beach.” Stan gave him an exhausted expression before taking a handful of sand and carefully letting it dump into Richie’s hair. Richie laughed, sat up to try and brush it back out as he tossed some sand back in Stan’s direction. 

Stan managed to get to his feet and get away from him before he could toss even more sand at him. He kept a distance between them as he dusted himself off; he’d have to wash up at the shop when he got back there. Richie looked out at the waves as another one washed over his feet. Made it up to his calves this time and soaking into his jeans. He was going to end up looking like a half drowned sailor if he sat there for too long. 

“Please don’t actually drown.” He felt Stan ruffle his hair before he started away again. He wouldn’t be able to be away for too long; he did have another appointment this afternoon. Richie appreciated that he’d taken the time to come find him either way. 

“Love you too, Stan.” He said it back and heard Stan pause for just a second before he started back up the beach. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and, as always, all comments are appreciated <3<3<3


	5. Questions Left Hanging

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie tries to make his way through trivia night with Eddie sitting besides him. Left with lingering feeling of self doubt from earlier in the day, he struggles to figure out how he feels about the situation given his 'revelation' from earlier in the day and signals he feels he's getting from Eddie.

Richie had not put extra care into his look for trivia. He hadn’t spent too much time deciding what to wear when he got back home soaking wet as Stan had predicted. He hadn’t made sure to use the good smelling body wash when he showered and he most definitely hadn’t put on a small touch of cologne that Bev had complimented once. He also hadn’t agonized over the fact that no amount of ‘cleaning up’ was going to be sufficient while staring in the mirror for a couple minutes too long. 

He had felt better after lying on the beach for a while; had felt a little more grounded. Richie couldn’t say he felt all that grounded now, however, as he got on his bike to go meet the others. 

It wasn’t a date. It was the furthest thing from a date. It was trivia night and Eddie just happened to be coming along. They might not even interact that much and, if they did, it wouldn’t be a big deal. They saw each other every day and Richie survived that. It would also give him a chance to see how Eddie and Stan interacted outside of the shop. Maybe he’d be able to tell then if his concerns were founded or not. 

Maybe Richie didn’t really want to know. 

He pulled up to the bar a few minutes late, grateful for his bike since it granted him more parking opportunities, and he stepped quickly inside so he wouldn’t miss the beginning of the trivia. He got hit by the cloud of warmth inside; body heat from the crowd mixed with the scent of alcohol and food. There was a cacophony of voices mixed with the music as he started back towards their usual booth. Stepped around tables and chairs and people who leaned a little too far back as they laughed or tried to talk to their neighbor.

Richie always felt like he was a battery in these sorts of environments. On one hand, he loved it. He loved being around so many people, putting on a little bit of a show and making everyone laugh. It charged him up but it also drained him. Unfortunately, he always hit the point where the scales tipped and he’d run out of power. Anxiety would set in, his chest would hollow out and he’d check out of the situation if he hadn’t managed to escape it before it all came crashing down. And Richie wasn’t always the best judge of when it was time to pull the plug. 

He spotted Bev first; her head peeked above the crowd as she waved at him. He waved back as he stepped around a waitress with an apology before he finally reached the booth in the back corner. 

“Come sit by me, Tozier!” Bev motioned for him as she shifted out of the booth to nudge him to sit down. When he did, Richie realized that she’d ensured he’d be sitting next to Eddie by doing so. He didn’t get a chance to protest even if he’d wanted to as Bev shooed him into the booth and sat back down on the end herself. “You’re too late to have input on the team name. We’ve already decided and submitted it.”

“Did you guys pick something lame? God, you picked something lame, didn’t you?” Richie gave an exasperated sigh. “This is why you don’t pick the name before I get here.”

“You haven’t even heard what we fucking chose, asshole,” Eddie said besides him as he reached for the pitcher of beer and one of the empty glasses in the center of the table. He refilled his first and then motioned towards the empty glass with a questioning look to Richie. 

“I don’t have to hear it. I just know it’s going to be lame. Please, pour me some beer before you tell me so I can drown my sorrow for being known as the ‘Wildflowers’ or whatever.” Richie nudged the empty glass a little closer to Eddie and watched him pour. Noted his hand as it gripped the pitcher handle; specifically, his long fingers and how they wrapped around the pitcher’s handle. Richie imagined they were strong too; he’d seen Eddie move large planters around the shop a few times. He wondered if he’d be gentle or rough...

“Well, whether you like it or not, welcome to the ‘Marsh’s Tits for Tats’.” Richie realized that Mike had held his glass out towards him across the table for a toast a little too late. Scrambled to pick up his now-full glass and clinked it against the side before taking a large swig. He could tell that he was blushing, had felt the heat rise up in his cheeks and hoped it’d be excused as it being warm in here. Richie tried to focus back on the conversation as he did it set in what Mike had just said the name of their team was. He almost choked as he laughed, setting his glass down quickly as he coughed a couple of times and gave Stan a look across the table. 

“Do not put the blame for this on my shoulders just because its a fucking reference to a bird.” Stan gave him a tired look before nodding at Bev who was grinning at him teasingly. 

“You going to give me a tat if I give you a little show, Ringwald?” Richie regained his breath and waggled his eyebrows at her. 

“Oh, please do.” 

“Please don’t.” Stan sighed from across the table as he leaned back. Mike’s arm was settled across his shoulders, hand toying with the collar of Bill’s shirt as the three of them leaned in close to each other. 

“Wasn’t asking you, Staniel.” Richie flipped Stan off from across the table though he settled against the back of the seat. “Later, Bev, I promise. I can give you a show in private if these losers want to miss out on it.” 

“They’re just jealous, Bitchard,” Bev said as she leaned to press a kiss against his temple. “Now, I think we need some goddamn shots before trivia starts. I’m going to go order us some from the bar.” 

*

“Next question from the science category! Which natural disaster is measured with a Richter scale?” 

“My dick!” Richie shouted it and there was a burst of laughter around them. They were going strong and Richie felt a lot more at ease now. Granted, everything he looked in Eddie’s direction he felt a little sick but in a good way. Every time he made Eddie laugh it felt even better. That was what Richie was good at; making people laugh. 

“Richie, you are just a natural disaster in your entirety.” Stan was cuddled down between Mike and Bill. The three of them had somehow gravitated closer and closer together over the course of the night. All Richie had managed was to ease off that hyper awareness of Eddie being next to him. It wasn’t like this was the first time he’d been in vicinity. 

“That’s why they named the volcano scale after me, Stan.” Richie pointed at him from across the table. Stan laughed but Richie could see that look in his eyes too; a touch of concern as Richie reached to take another drink. He knew that Stan worried about him overdoing it. He’d done it before; had too much and gotten himself in trouble because of it. Richie had enough sense left to meter the sip he took and then set his glass a little further away from himself. 

“Why don’t you finish up the last couple of cheese sticks, Richie, and it’s earthquakes. Not volcanos.” Mike made the suggestion as he nudged the basket over to him in a completely obvious move to make him eat something. Mike had already cut Bill off a little earlier when he’d started diving into his ‘cryptids exist’ Ted talk that he apparently felt very passionate about. 

“I knew that. I was making a joke about my explosive virality.” 

“If you have to explain a joke, it’s not funny.” Bill said from where he was leaning against Stan’s side. His arm was draped over Stan’s shoulders, stretched far enough so that his hand rested on Mike’s shoulder as well. The three of them linked together in a way that looked casual but that Richie knew ran deeper than surface level. 

“And I’m pretty sure you mean virility.” Eddie added as he pushed a glass of water in Richie’s direction. There was a familiar light of amusement in Eddie’s eyes as he nudged Richie’s arm to get him to pick it up. That humor that had accompanied them through lunches but that felt a little more intimate with Eddie sitting right there beside him. Their knees kept bumping under the table and Richie could practically feel his body heat. He pulled his eyes away as he took the offered glass of water to get a drink. It probably was better for him to not get completely plastered. 

“No, Richie’s pretty viral. He said what he meant,” Bev grinned at him, gave him a quick wink as she snagged one of the cheese sticks from the basket to leave him with only one. Richie rolled his eyes as he leaned back, felt somewhat quelled as Mike got their answer submitted. 

Richie felt momentarily bold as he gave Eddie a wink before he tipped his head back to down the entire glass of water. Maybe he felt a little less in his head about Eddie being there; maybe he wished that Eddie would sidle up closer to him like the threesome had done on the other side of the table. Once he’d managed to empty the glass he set it down and snagged the last cheese stick finally. 

“I can’t help it if my charm is infectious, Bev. Tread carefully if you still want that show later.” Richie waggled his eyebrows at her as she feigned tears rolling down her face; tracing them down her cheeks with her fingertips. 

“I’m pretty sure both Bev and I have seen you shirtless enough times for it to be seared into our brains, Richie. I don’t think saying we won’t ever be subjected to that again isn’t the threat you believe it to be.” Richie grinned at Stan who gave him a narrowed look in return. 

“Well, if that’s the case, Staniel.”

“Stan, you did this to us.” Bill complained as Richie lifted his shirt. Bev gave a soft squeal of laughter and Stan stared at him in annoyance though Richie caught the smirk on his face. A small sense of appreciation that slipped through which was saying a lot for Stan. Richie was too nervous to look over and see what Eddie’s face might tell him as he suddenly felt a bit self-conscious. 

“Alright! The correct answer was earthquakes! The Rimshots, Trivia Takedown and, despite their initial suggestion, Marsh’s Tits for Tats all get a point this round. It looks like they’re celebrating early!” The announcer came on to move them onto the next question and Richie pulled his shirt down. He flushed a bit though laughed along as a few groups applauded around him. 

“Next question for my teams here; which planet’s moons are almost all named after Shakespearean characters?” 

“Uranus.” Richie supplied the answer as he reached for his water glass. He had eyed his glass of beer that was sitting about midtable for a second until he felt Bev’s arms wrap around him. 

“Cute.” Eddie said without any humor in his voice and when Richie looked at him to defend himself, Eddie wouldn’t meet his eye. Didn’t even seem to want to look in his direction. He was staring out into the crowd towards the bar with an obvious determination. Something in Richie’s chest clenched a little; wondered if he’d embarrassed him or made him mad with his stunt or maybe even worse. It had seemed like Eddie couldn’t take his eyes off of him before. 

“That actually is the right answer. Favorite one is Puck, isn’t it?” Bev chimed in from where her head was on Richie’s shoulder. He let his cheek rest against the top of her head as he slipped an arm around her in return. 

“Yeah. I mean, I honestly couldn’t care less about the moon but Puck as a character has always been my favorite. You know him and Oberon totally had a thing.” 

“Too bad you don’t have a King of the Fairies to go for, Richie. Someone will be lucky to have you as their Puck someday.” Mike said from across the table as he gave him a smile. There was maybe a hint of friendly flirtation there, nothing serious but he knew Mike was being nice. Richie gave a soft huff of laughter though he suddenly wished the spotlight wasn’t on him anymore. 

“Bev, if you see the waitress, can you flag her down for me?” Eddie spoke up suddenly; a hint of edge in his voice as he leaned to grab a menu from the corner of the table. 

“Oh, I want more of the southwest rolls!” Bill chimed in as he grabbed one too. The conversation suddenly shifted to being about what food they should order, interrupted briefly by the mention of who had gotten points for that round. Bev managed to get the waitress’s attention as the next question was being read out, something about birds which meant that Stan immediately wrote down the answer for Mike to hand up to be submitted. 

They all ordered, a mix of appetizers and burgers that would end up being entirely too much food even with there being six of them. Richie had been glad for the general distraction; had appreciated having the focus taken off of him despite the fact he’d called it to himself in the first place. They were crammed into the seat again; Bev and Eddie against his sides and he sat back in some attempt to disappear a little for a few minutes. 

He felt Bev’s arm come to rest around his shoulders as she leaned against him even as Bill managed to lure her into a debate about whether or not Mothman would be more moth or man. Bill claimed he’d seen him once when he was younger on a camping trip and that he had superior evidence because of this. 

“He’d have to be more moth. If he was more man, he wouldn’t be able to fly.” Bev’s argument seemed clear cut as he watched her tap her fingertips against the top of the table in time with her words to emphasize her point. It made Richie pause as he watched her; continued to feel the warm weight around his shoulders even though she clearly had both hands in front of her. It dawned on him that it was Eddie’s arm and Richie froze for a second. 

“Mothman doesn’t even exist. Why is this even a fucking argument?” Eddie joined their discussion with an incredulous frown on his face. His hand gestured from where it was resting on Richie’s shoulder but made no move to leave that spot. Richie glanced at him but Eddie was focused solely on Bill now. 

“There are reports-” Bill leaned across the table while doing an admirable impersonation of the ‘Aliens’ guy. Richie forgot how fun drunk Bill could be. 

“People saw a fucking crane!” Eddie shot back at him; his thumb brushing for a moment against Richie’s jaw as he made that chopping gesture with his hand. The one he made when he felt something was obvious and that he shouldn’t have to make a point stating it. A familiarity in the argument. 

“You always say that but the type of crane they claim it was doesn’t live natively up there. Ask Stan! He knows bird shit, okay? There are reports of people seeing Mothman before disasters for years!” Bill barreled forward even as there was a flicker of dread on Stan’s face like he feared getting pulled into the middle of it all. If it wasn’t for him and Mike keeping track, the trivia would be all but forgotten now, but the two of them clearly were paying attention to get the questions. Richie would have been too if his brain wasn’t focused on processing the feel of Eddie’s arm around him. 

“People’s recollection after disasters are often skewed and they remember what they want to remember. If one person says they saw a moth-like man at the scene, more people are going to cling to that. Suddenly there’s ten people ‘remembering’ they saw it.” Bev stated back, the fight apparently now two on one. 

“Exactly, someone probably saw something in the dark, assumed it was something else and after the fact when something bad happened it was translated into being some kind of omen.” 

“What they SAW in the dark was MOTHMAN!” Bill stabbed his finger at the surface of the table as if he was making an impeachable point. 

“Not to interrupt this wonderful debate I’ve heard twenty times now; Eddie, what flower can be used instead of onions for cooking?” Mike interrupted, speaking over Bill as he continued to present his evidence. 

“Tulips,” Eddie answered back and, for the first time since the titty debacle, their eyes met. Richie felt a little like a deer caught in the headlights; sat for a moment looking back at Eddie and feeling every impulse to kiss him run through his body like a current. This was far worse than their walks to get lunch together. Harder to resist than when they sat next to each other in the shop eating amongst the conversation.

“Thank you,” Mike chimed back and the seconds passed as Eddie nodded his head and looked away. 

“Mothman...no, listen, Mothman is an interdimensional being that came here to help warn us of imminent disaster. The thing it didn’t account for, or the beings who sent him didn’t account for, was that we would fear him. That we would shun the thing meant to help save us.” 

“Mothman also killed JFK. I’m pretty sure I heard that somewhere.” Richie found his voice again, tested the waters a little by shifting a bit closer to Eddie and felt his grip tighten just a little as he did. He felt completely thrown off kilter which went with the rest of the day as it was. He glanced across the table at Stan and found him staring back. There wasn’t any sort of upset emotions on his face like Richie was crossing the line he feared he was crossing. Instead, Stan gave him a proud little smirk as he handed the recent answer to Mike to turn in. 

“Fuck you, Richie. Mothman doesn’t kill people.” 

“Babe, you need to drink some water,” Mike said as he picked his own glass up and moved it over in front of Bill with a laugh. Richie stuck his tongue out at him as Bill pouted but picked up his glass to drink. Their food would hopefully be there soon enough which would help as well. 

“Do all these trivia nights turn into him arguing the existence of mythical creatures?” Eddie seemed to decide they were acknowledging each other again as he spoke quietly just to him. He leaned a little closer, not that they weren’t already close, so that Richie was able to hear him over the crowd. 

“No, sometimes Stan gets emotional about birds instead.” Richie followed his lead, spoke quietly under his breath as ‘tulips’ was announced as the correct answer. Their team was the only one who had gotten that one and the others all let up a cheer as they finally pulled ahead. “Do you cook with tulips often, Eds?” 

“I’ve done it once or twice out of curiosity. Maybe sometime I can cook something for you with them?” 

Richie felt his breath catch in his throat as he looked at Eddie. There had been something in the way he’d said it and when he met Eddie’s eyes he found an earnest look there. He was reading too much into it. Or maybe he wasn’t. Bev always told him that he was terrible at knowing when someone was flirting with him. Was he making an assumption because he wanted Eddie to be flirting?

“You know, I could bring something for us all to have to lunch instead of going and buying take out?” Eddie frowned a little bit as he clarified and Richie thanked the gods that he hadn’t managed to find his voice before he’d done so. Of course he meant cook for them now that daily lunches were a thing. 

“That’d be great, Eds.” He managed to speak and gave Eddie a smile. Felt that sting of regret that he’d clearly been reading too much into all this. Eddie watched him for a moment longer before nodding; he squeezed Richie’s shoulder softly with his hand before he removed his arm from around him. 

It left Richie feeling too light; left him feeling cold along the stretch of his back where Eddie’s warmth had been. Their food arrived, a ridiculous amount of dishes being set down in front of them by a couple of the waitresses but Richie didn’t really feel hungry anymore. 

Richie knew this might not have been a great idea; coming after the way he’d felt all day. Being here with that uncertainty in his chest still whether there were lines to be crossed or not. He hated when the threads of insecurity stitched themselves tightly between his ribs to where even humor felt like it wouldn’t save him. Because in the end that was his failsafe, deflect. Make a joke. Make everyone laugh because at least you’re getting positive feedback even if you’re making a fool of yourself.

“I might actually step out for some air for a moment.” Richie gave Bev a gentle nudge as he decided he wanted to get out. She scooted out of the bench for him so he could get up and he saw the questioning look she gave him for just a second. It had been a long day and Richie needed a moment to not feel like he had to be ‘on’. 

“Alright; we’ve made it! Last question of the night played jeopardy-style. Everyone write your answers down and the amount of points from 1 to 5 you’re willing to gamble. If you’re wrong, those points get deducted from your total. If you’re right, they get added. Currently Marsh’s Tits for Tats is in the lead but Rock-em Sock-em is a close second!”

“Do you want me to come with you?” Bev had to speak up a bit to be heard over the announcer as he got out of the booth and Richie shook his head in response. He didn’t want to pull her away from the last round; he just needed the air unless he wanted to get sick. 

“If we win while you’re gone; you won’t be included! Bailing out at our time of need,” Bill called after him jokingly and Bev flipped him off for Richie. She let him step around her and Richie all but dived into the crowd. It took him a bit to navigate through the place even with the advantage of most people stepping out of his way. His height and broad shoulders were good for something at least.

When he stepped outside onto the balcony area, the air was cool and humid with the heavy scent of ocean salt and future rain blowing in. He was going to have a wet ride home if the clouds hanging low in the sky meant anything. Richie took a deep breath as the door closed behind him and he moved over to the railing that looked out over the street. He would just need a couple of minutes and then he could go back inside. Just a little bit of time to recollect himself. 

He startled when the door opened behind him, glanced back and found Eddie with an uncertain look on his face. 

“Sorry, I just...needed my air myself.” Richie nodded, felt that nervous flutter again as he turned to look out over the street. The beach was just beyond the buildings on the other side and out over the water there was a flicker of lightning in the clouds. “You okay?” 

“Yeah, probably just drank a little too much. Don’t worry about me, Spaghetti.” 

Eddie stepped up beside him and leaned against the rail as well. He frowned out at the clouds as Richie eyed him out of the corner of his eyes. There was about a foot of space between them; carefully kept as if they were both suddenly aware of how close they’d been for the last couple of hours. 

“You okay?” Richie echoed the question back at Eddie. 

“I’m fine. Crowds just get to me after a while and it was fucking loud in there. I remember why I don’t come to these things very often. It’s been a few years since I let Bill talk me into coming out to one.” Eddie turned his back to the storm; leaned back against the railing with a slow intentional care like he expected it to break off and drop him below if he wasn’t cautious. It made Richie smile a little; Eddie always seemed to have a clear purpose in the way he did things. 

“That would explain why I didn’t realize you knew Bill and Mike. How long have you guys been friends?” There was a selfish curiosity that raised those tense nerves up along his spine once more as he asked. If he knew how long Eddie knew those two; he might be able to gauge how long since he’d known Stan as well. How long ago the two of them had been a thing.

“I’ve known Mike my entire life; we grew up together. I met Bill in college and introduced the two of them.” There was a soft peel of thunder in the distance as Eddie talked. Richie let himself slump forward, leaned so that he could cross his arms on the top of the rail and used them as a pillow to rest his cheek on. 

“Well, shit, I’m surprised we hadn’t met sooner if you’ve known Bill that fucking long. Where have you been hiding yourself, Eds?” Richie tried to joke but it didn’t quite make it into his voice. It was an honest question and his tone made it entirely too clear that he cared to know. He had wandered a little after college but it wasn’t like he hadn’t kept in touch with Stan and Bill before moving here to start up the shop. Trying to find a place to settle. 

“I met Stan a few times. I don’t think you had all opened the shop up yet back then. Bill and Mike took me by the space he was renting in a different shop at that time. Otherwise, there was once or twice where we all got together for trivia or bowling but even back then I felt a lot like a fourth wheel.” Eddie spoke casually though there had been a pause in his voice when he’d mentioned Stan back then. It would have been the most likely time if anything had happened between them. 

Stan had wanted roots after college; had wanted to settle down. Richie had decided he wanted to wander instead. He’d couch surfed around for a few years, met some amazing people and some not so great people. Bev had been one of the best and when Stan had contacted him about trying to set up a shop, she’d come back with him. 

“Guess that explains why he hadn’t really mentioned knowing you before when we moved shops.”

“The first day you guys were moving in he literally said hello and stopped to talk to me for a while. I’m pretty fucking sure he even introduced us. Glad I made such a lasting fucking impression.” Eddie gave him a critical look; seemed to feel that the railing wasn’t going to break off at this point as he leaned on it to match Richie’s posture. 

“All I remember from that day is how the weird florist in his cute apron bitched about having a tattoo shop next door. You seemed pretty pissed about the whole thing,” Richie said with a laugh. There was another flicker of lightning; the thunder sounding a few seconds after. The storm was moving in closer. 

“I was pissed because you somehow managed to knock over that entire display of succulents I had setup because you were fucking goofing off, dipshit. I wasn’t mad to have you guys moving into the space next to me. It’s been a relief not having it just sit empty.” 

Eddie shifted his weight a little and Richie felt him gently kick his shoe. He wanted to move closer; he wanted Eddie’s arm around his shoulders again. He stood up, maybe let himself shorten the distance between them a little as he kept his hands on the rail. Eddie moved with him once more, seemed to try and stay on his level as they faced each other. 

“Think we should head back in? See if those idiots managed to lose the entire game for us?” He didn’t want to. This wasn’t what he’d been seeking when he’d come out here; he had wanted the solitude and air. Richie preferred this though. Wished he felt more confident in taking another step closer to Eddie. To do what the others kept telling him to do; to figure out once and for all if Eddie maybe felt the same way he did. 

“Maybe in a few more minutes. The air’s nice out here.” 

Richie felt his stomach dip when Eddie seemed to take the initiative to step closer to him. There was another flicker of lightning that gave an almost immediate response of thunder that drummed away with his heart. He gave a soft huff of laughter because he didn’t really know what else to do. Felt like he was waiting for a lightning strike of his own. 

They both flinched away from each other when the door to the patio banged open behind them. Richie turned to watch as another couple stumbled out of the bar; immediately pressed themselves against the wall as they started to make out without seeming to realize they were there. 

“Well, I guess someone’s having fun.” He joked as he glanced at Eddie to find the distance between them had grown again. Eddie rolled his eyes in apparent agreement as he scowled softly at the other couple. The sound of the first drops of rain started to fall and pattered against the ground; a droplet managing to hit the rim of his glasses to leave a distorted spot in his vision. 

“I guess we probably should go in now. It’s not smart to be out here with the lightning so close anyway,” Eddie said as he pushed away from the railing. Richie wished the lightning had maybe gotten a little closer but he didn’t disagree as he moved to follow Eddie to the door. The couple still seemed clueless that they had an audience even when they pulled the door open and the sound of the crowd inside spilled out. Enveloped them and pulled them back in to be met by the hot stale air. 

“With a resounding thirty-nine points; the winner of tonight’s Trivia Challenge is…Marsh’s Tits for Tats!” Eddie had turned to say something to him right as the announcer spoke but whatever the words had been were drowned away with cheers. 

*

“You going to be alright riding home in this?” A few hours had passed but the rain hadn’t as they gathered under the awning at the front of the bar. Stan stood next to him eyeing the downpour with a hint of concern on his face as the others worked through saying their goodbyes. 

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I mean, I’ll be soaked, but I’ll be fine. Might just take longer with visibility.” Richie shrugged softly as he fished the keys to his motorcycle out of his pockets. He’d left his helmet on his bike which likely meant it was more of a small mobile pond at this point. His own mistake but he hadn’t wanted to drag it inside. 

“Let one of us give you a ride, Richie. We can run you by tomorrow to pick up your bike.” Bev called over the sound of the rain from where Mike was helping her into her jacket. Richie didn’t like leaving his bike behind anymore than he liked making the others drive out of their way to get him home.

“I appreciate the offer, Marsh, but I’ll be fine. It’d be in the opposite direction for you anyway.” 

“Okay, suit yourself, martyr.” Bev shot back at him with a shake of her head. “Just let us know you get back safe.” 

Richie could feel Stan’s eyes burning into him for not taking the offer. He just didn’t think they had to worry that much. It was late and stormy which meant there wouldn’t be many people out for him to worry about on the roads. Other drivers were usually the riskiest thing about riding his motorcycle around. 

“Eddie,” Stan caught Eddie’s attention as he stepped outside finally with Bill. The two of them had taken the pooled cash up to make sure their bill was settled before they all left. 

“Yeah?” 

Richie realized his mistake when he felt his keys get yanked from his hand, Stan quickly tossing them in Eddie’s direction only for him to duck and have them nail Bill in the shoulder. 

“Ow, what the hell, Stan?” Bill scooped the keys up off the ground where they had landed before gently tossing them to Eddie since he’d been the intended recipient. 

“Give Richie a ride home, will you? He’s on his motorcycle and with the way it’s coming down we don’t want him trying to drive in this. Especially since he’s had a few.” 

Richie turned to give Stan a look, mouthed ‘I hate you’ at him in the face of the smug grin Stan gave him. Maybe it was better that he didn’t drive himself home though at this point he felt pretty damn sober. None of them had ordered anymore drinks after the responsible ones had started to cut them off. 

“Oh, yeah, I can do that. Don’t really want to hear about the local idiot who gets himself into a crash trying to ride home in this shit.” Eddie shoved his keys into his jeans pockets effectively sealing the deal that Richie wasn’t going to get them back. Not that Richie was opposed to reaching into the pockets. 

Maybe he was still a bit more buzzed than he thought. 

“Alright, I’m going to go for it. See you guys tomorrow. Mike, Bill...if you can swing by for lunch maybe?” Bev pulled the hood up on her jacket as she stepped towards the edge of the awning with her own keys in hand. 

“We’ll give it a try. Good to see you, Bev.” 

They all broke off in their groups out into the downpour as they shouted goodbyes to each other. Bill, Mike and Stan all headed off towards Bill’s sedan and Bev off towards her jeep. Richie and Eddie lingered a few moments longer under the awning. 

“I’m parked just over there. Come on.” Eddie gave him a nudge as he nodded off towards the left of the parking lot. Richie followed him when they finally ducked out into the rain; jogged between the cars and leaving his bike behind where it was parked towards the front. 

The lights on Eddie’s trunk lit up as he unlocked it and Richie moved over to the passenger side to climb in as quickly as he could. His glasses were water speckled and fogged, practically useless now that he was inside the truck so he pulled them off. Tried to find somewhere to dry them off on but he was fairly soaked just from the run out here. 

“Where do you live?” Eddie got the truck turned on and a second later the vents came to life with cool air. Richie tried drying his glasses despite knowing it wouldn’t work and had them come back still smeared and possibly worse than before. He squinted as he noticed Eddie reach over, tried to read his expression even as his glasses were plucked out of his hands. 

“Uh, on 8th and Robertson. There’s a little neighborhood of townhouses right in there.” Richie tried to see what Eddie was doing; could see the vague shape of him as he moved and then his glasses were handed back to him. When he slipped them on, Richie found them mostly dry with only a few small spots of water along the edges. Eddie was tucking away one of those glasses wipes that Richie tended to just toss when they came with new pairs. 

“Okay, I know where that is. I’ve delivered a few times in there. Get your seatbelt on.” Eddie gave him a chastising look for having not already gotten himself buckled in. Richie rolled his eyes but pulled the belt into place. Eddie only shifted the truck into reverse once he knew that he was truly buckled in. 

“Thanks for the ride.” 

“I’m sure you would have done the same.” 

Would he have? Of course, he would have. Richie would have jumped at the chance if Eddie had needed it. It would have been a bit different though; the two of them on his bike. Eddie’s arms wrapped around him and holding onto him tight. 

“Well, still, thanks. It saved me from getting a full lecture from Stan.” 

“You would have deserved it for trying to fucking ride home in this. It’s coming down pretty damn hard and I’ve seen the way some of the people in this town drive. You’d think they’d know that the gas and brakes were two separate pedals. I swear it's worse than being caught in New York traffic sometime.” 

Richie currently wasn’t certain that Eddie knew that you didn’t have to press the gas down to the floor to get your vehicle moving as they pulled out of the parking lot and started down the road. It didn’t feel ‘unsafe’ per say but it was fast given the rain and Richie found himself holding onto the door handle a bit tightly. 

“You ever drive the autobahn, Eds?” Richie jokingly asked as they slowed and came to a halt stop at a stop sign. Eddie took the moment to give him an incredulous look that Richie could only see thanks to the streetlamp that glowed at the intersection. 

“The fucking road in Germany?” 

“Yeah, that one.” 

“No, why?” Eddie shook his head as he focused back on the road; checked both ways before he pulled out to turn left. 

“No reason,” Richie said as they picked up speed again. He sat watching the street move past feeling that sense of nerves again. 

He was just getting a ride home; a raide that Stan had suggested to get him out of the rain sooner. It felt like the end of a date though with Eddie taking him back. Richie wondered briefly what would happen if he asked Eddie to come inside. He looked in his direction for a moment; watched his features light up and shift with the passing street lamps they flew by. 

It had seemed like there was something there out on the patio at the bar. Seemed like something when Eddie had put his arm over his shoulders. Richie hadn’t ever been great at being able to read when something wasn’t just nothing in the end though. And Eddie was high risk. Not because he felt Eddie would react poorly if he made a move but that there was too much uncertainty weighing in the back of Richie’s mind. Eddie seemed to have cleared up the confusion with Stan but Richie still felt there was something he was missing there. And if Eddie said no, they’d have to still awkwardly see each other every day. Even worse, if Eddie said yes, and then realized like so many other people had that Richie wasn’t worth the time…

They took a right around a corner, the small town combined with Eddie’s record breaking driving speed making the trip go by faster than Richie would have expected as he started to recognize how close they were to his place. 

“Tonight was fun. You should come to the group things more often. Now that you’re not just going to be a fourth wheel and all that.” Richie decided he needed to say something as Eddie glanced his way. He had clearly noticed that Richie was staring at him. He refocused out the passenger side window instead as if he was just casually watching the scenery go by. 

“Yeah, maybe I will. Which unit are you?” 

“Oh, 7B. It’s around the right if you take the second entrance up there.” 

He’d been smart enough to leave the front porch light on so his place wasn’t completely dark as they pulled up to it. Richie felt disappointed but he turned to give Eddie a smile. Kept that impulse to tell him to come inside to himself. 

“Thanks again, Spagheds. Guess I’ll see you at the shop tomorrow.” Richie popped the handle on the truck door, the interior light turning on and half blinding him compared to the darkness they’d been driving through. 

“Yeah, I guess so.” Eddie was frowning at the steering wheel rather than looking at him and Richie felt disappointment and relief that he’d kept that impulse silent. 

“See ya-”

“Hey Rich?” He had pushed the door open and started to climb out when Eddie spoke up. He ducked his head back in, felt the rain hitting the back of his neck as he gave Eddie an expectant look. Eddie stared at him for a few moments like there was something he wanted to say but then he just shifted in his seat to dig in his pocket for a second. 

“I’m assuming you’re going to need these?” Eddie let his keys dangle from his hand. Richie had forgotten that he had a hold of them and he reached to take them back with a nervous laugh. 

“Shit, thanks. Would have sucked to have to sleep on the front porch, right? Have a good night, Eddie.” 

“Have a good night, Rich.” 

He pulled back away from the truck and shut the door behind him. He jogged up to the front door, felt like he was putting on a show as Eddie continued to sit there in the truck. Richie could feel his eyes on him as Eddie waited for him to get inside before he pulled away. 

It was quiet and cool inside his house with his damp clothes dripping on the entryway tile.

**Author's Note:**

> This is purely a project born out of a selfish desire for a more lighthearted project with the Losers. I sincerely hope you enjoy and would love to hear your thoughts. <3


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